Two Southern California men charged in odometer-rollback scheme

A Woodland Hills car salesman and another man were charged with rolling back vehicle odometers in a scheme in which people paid up to $400 to avoid penalties for exceeding mileage limits on leases or to increase auto trade-in values, the Justice Department said Friday.

Jeffrey Levy, 62, a former salesman at Galpin Ford in North Hills, and Shamai Salpeter, 64, also of Woodland Hills, face up to three years in prison and as much as $1 million each in fines if convicted of a federal law prohibiting the altering of odometer readings.

Both men were charged with conspiracy to commit odometer tampering.

While working at the dealership, Levy referred customers, including some friends, to Salpeter, the Justice Department said. Salpeter charged $100 to $400 to roll back the odometer readings, which he did using electronic tools in the driveway of his home.

Levy then accepted the vehicles for lease returns or trade-ins without alerting the dealership, “thus defrauding future owners of the vehicles,” the Justice Department said.

Galpin Ford cooperated in the investigation, the Justice Department said.

Alan Skobin, vice president at Galpin Motors Inc., said the dealership reported the odometer tampering to the California Department of Motor Vehicles after an employee received a tip that it was happening.

The dealership then helped authorities, including providing three vehicles to be used in an undercover operation to catch the suspects, he said.

Levy did not immediately respond to a voice mail message. A person who answered Salpeter’s cellphone said he was out of the country.

Salpeter was the subject of a 2012 hidden-camera investigation by KCBS-TV Channel 2 of odometer fraud.

“Victims of odometer fraud lose thousands of dollars on what can turn out to be unreliable and potentially dangerous vehicles,” Assistant Atty. Gen. Stuart F. Delery said Friday.

A 2002 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that 450,000 vehicles were sold each year with false odometer readings, defrauding car buyers of an estimated $1 billion.

The case was investigated by NHTSA’s odometer fraud office and the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

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