Officials stated that a federal grand jury in Chicago, Illinois, returned an unsealed indictment Wednesday, charging three Illinois men with operating an odometer and title fraud scheme.
The alleged scheme involved hundreds of used cars over many years, according to prosecutors.
According to court documents, Laith Ghzo, 36, of Oak Lawn, Hussein Ghzo, 40, of Palos Heights, and Musab Sawai, 35, of Worth, caused the mileage of hundreds of used vehicles to be rolled back and altered title documents to reflect the false, low mileage.
Those used vehicles were then sold to unsuspecting wholesale buyers. Ultimately, consumers paid more for those vehicles than they would have paid if they had known the truth about their mileage.
Laith Ghzo and Hussein Ghzo are charged with conspiracy to make counterfeit securities and commit mail fraud, making counterfeit securities and mail fraud. Musab Sawai is charged with conspiracy to make counterfeit securities and mail fraud.
If convicted, Laith Ghzo and Hussein Ghzo are facing up to 20 years in prison for each mail fraud count, and Musab Sawai faces up to five years in prison for conspiracy.
The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The NHTSA Office of Odometer Fraud Investigations and the Postal Inspection Service are investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Joshua D. Rothman and Thomas Rosso of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kartik K. Raman for the Northern District of Illinois are prosecuting the case.
NHTSA estimates that odometer fraud in the United States results in more than $1 billion in annual consumer losses and has established a special hotline to handle odometer fraud complaints.
Individuals with information about odometer tampering should call (800) 424-9393 or (202) 366-4761.
More information on odometer fraud is available on the NHTSA website https://one.nhtsa.gov/Vehicle-Safety/Odometer-Fraud and tips on detecting and avoiding odometer fraud are available at this page: www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nvs/pdf/811284.pdf.
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.