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FBIAUG02.TXT
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1990-08-20
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August 1990
ODOMETER ROLLBACK SCHEMES
By
James E. Scripture
Special Agent, FBI
Boston, Massachusetts
With the expense associated with purchasing a new motor
vehicle and the proliferation of leased and rental cars in
recent years, odometer tampering has become a very lucrative
criminal activity. This is why this activity is now recognized
as a serious form of white-collar crime. Odometer tampering
involves reducing the high mileage figure on used vehicles and is
often accompanied with title laundering. Prime targets are
formerly leased, high-mileage vehicles that are 1 to 2 years old
and still retain a polished appearance. (1)
Odometer rollback schemes represent a pervasive fraud that
costs consumers billions of dollars annually. In fact,
statistics compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Association (NHTSA) conservatively estimate the aggregate annual
wholesale loss in the United States as a result of these
schemes at approximately $3 to $4 billion. This calculated
dollar loss is based on fraudulent, wholesale markups and not
retail sales. Also, increased repair, maintenance, and safety
costs associated with rollback vehicles are not included in the
estimates. (2)
Surprisingly, the commission of odometer fraud is not
limited to the stereotypical American used car dealer. The
monetary incentives associated with turned back odometers and
laundered automobile titles entice individuals at every level of
the automotive industry. Participants may include automobile
auction operators, new car franchise holders, registry of motor
vehicle (RMV) officials, and new car manufacturers.
Furthermore, these offenses can be extremely difficult to
detect, investigate, and prosecute; they are generally
perpetrated by intelligent individuals who develop elaborate,
highly organized, and complicated schemes. Yet, some rollback
operations uncovered by investigators were elementary and
amateurish.
THE VARIETY OF SCHEMES
Falsifying Titles
One of the most primitive odometer rollback schemes occurs
when a dealer purchases a high mileage vehicle in the name of the
automobile dealership and subsequently resells it with a
falsified, reduced odometer reading. This is accomplished merely
by altering the high-mileage figure noted on the title or by
obtaining a new automobile title with a false mileage figure
before reselling the vehicle.
The major disadvantage to altering only the odometer figure
on the title is discovery. In most cases, these simplistic
alterations are of poor quality and can be easily detected at
automobile auctions by RMV officials who diligently examine title
documents.
Altering Titles
This odometer rollback scheme is perhaps the most efficient.
In this scam, the offending dealer employs a professional
calligrapher or an artist to perform superior quality title
alterations, which are often very difficult to detect with the
naked eye.
Reassigning Titles
In most States, licensed automobile dealers can accept and
transfer vehicle titles without reregistering them in the
dealership's name. This is done by attaching an automobile
dealer's reassignment of title form to the original automobile
title. Numerous title reassignments may accompany an original
title, as well as the washed title.
Also, offending dealers often manufacture phony title
reassignments for a rollback vehicle in an attempt to avoid
culpability. An offending dealer may also discard, rather than
alter, prior reassignments of title, making it difficult to
trace ownership of the vehicle. The practice of discarding
and/or destroying title reassignments is called stripping a
title.
Title Laundering
Another type of odometer roll-back scheme occurs when
offending dealers attempt to circumvent the problems associated
with title alterations by purchasing title documents issued in
the names of out-of-state automobile companies. This method
involves surrendering an automobile title that contains a reduced
mileage figure to an out-of-state registry of motor vehicles
(RMV). The vehicle is then reregistered in the name of a
company or dealership in another State, and the issued title,
which contains the reduced mileage figure, is reassigned back to
the offending dealer, creating a phony paper trail.
This false title history creates an unaltered title that
distances the offending dealer from the odometer rollback. This
new automobile title is referred to as a clean, washed, or
laundered title. Because offending dealers always maintain
physical possession of the vehicles in question until they are
sold, geography is never a concern. In most cases, the only
items that cross State lines are the phony title documents.
ROLLBACK OPERATIONS
Odometer Clockers
Initially, an offending automobile dealer makes minor
cosmetic improvements to a vehicle, such as washing and waxing
it. In addition, items such as brake pedals, tires, and floor
mats, which are subject to noticeable amounts of wear and tear,
are replaced. Then, the dealer usually pays a mechanic or
another individual, referred to as a clocker, to turn back the
odometer.
The price for each turn back varies, depending on the degree
of difficulty associated with each vehicle. A proficient clocker
can complete a rollback job in a matter of minutes by using such
common tools as picks, wires, or screw-drivers. This enables the
clocker to service a large number of vehicles in a relatively
short period of time. These vehicles are subsequently sold on a
retail basis directly from the offending dealer's lot, or more
commonly, transported to one of numerous automobile auction
houses in the United States.
Automobile Auction Houses
An automobile auction house is an integral part of many
scams. Auction houses often encourage offending dealers to
purchase high mileage vehicles from them in order to realize
larger profits from high volume sales. An individual who intends
to alter the odometer reading of a high mileage, attractive
vehicle will frequently pay these wholesale automobile
distributors or auction houses a price in excess of fair market
value in order to secure the product. Appearance is important
because the odometer will be altered and the vehicle sold at a
commensurately higher price. Thus, the offender can afford to
outbid legitimate automobile dealers for the same automobile
because the higher cost is tempered with an illegal profit. Many
auction houses even underwrite the sale.
The auction house serves as a commissioned broker during
these transactions and rarely takes title to the vehicles. This
method makes it extremely tempting for an auction house to
transact business with known or suspected offending dealers who
routinely negotiate high volume wholesale transactions.
In addi