Florida Auto-Dealer Found Guilty of Rolling Back Odometers More Than 400,000 Miles on Sold Vehicles

Cover photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo by: Wesley Tingey | Unsplash

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Middle District of Florida, an Orlando auto dealer has pleaded guilty to three counts of tampering with odometers by significantly rolling back the mileage before selling his lot to other used vehicle dealers.
​
Drew Mitchell Schreiber of Orlando is the owner of Central Florida Automotive Group, now named Southeastern Credit Union Solutions, in Winter Garden, Florida. The press release states that Schreiber admitted to purchasing high-mileage used vehicles from wholesale automobile autions throughout the Sunshine State, and entered into the courtroom with a plea deal.
​
After purchasing these used vehicles, their odometers were then rolled back as much as 428,000 mile and resold to unsuspecting used-vehicle dealers via auto auctions or by online direct sales. The rolled-back vehicles were then sold to victims throughout the United States, enriching Schreiber with fraudulent gains.

Because many of these vehicles were more than 10 years old, Shreiber was able to obtain so-called "exempt" titles that did not reveal the actual mileage of the vehicles.

“Just because a motor vehicle may be exempt from mileage recording on a title does not give a dealer the right to roll back odometers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

“With vehicles remaining in use for longer periods of time, many Americans rely on older vehicles as their primary mode of transportation. Used car buyers deserve peace of mind knowing that the odometer reading in their vehicle is correct.”

As of publication, a sentencing hearing has not been set and is planned to be scheduled for a later date. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation investigated this case.

Trial Attorney David Sullivan of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kara Wick for the Middle District of Florida prosecuted the case.

Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.

Article by Rachael Volpe