Reynaldo Garza, a 53-year-old resident of Othello, Washington, was sentenced on March 17 in Spokane to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay $21,080 in restitution after being convicted of five felony counts of odometer tampering. U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca L. Pennell also imposed one year of supervised release following incarceration and prohibited Garza from selling vehicles during that period.
Garza's conviction stems from a scheme where he purchased high-mileage used cars at low prices, replaced their odometers with ones showing much lower mileage obtained from wrecking yards or used auto parts sellers, and then sold the vehicles by misrepresenting their true mileage. In some cases, the difference between actual and displayed mileage was as much as 100,000 miles. The fraudulent activity resulted in thousands of dollars in profit per sale.
According to evidence presented at trial, Garza tampered with the odometers of at least 21 vehicles over several years. An expert testified that he rolled back a total of more than two million miles across these vehicles. During sentencing, Judge Pennell said Garza's actions were not isolated incidents but part of an ongoing pattern targeting his own community and breaching public trust.
First Assistant United States Attorney Pete Serrano said: “Mr. Garza is not the first nor the last person commit odometer fraud in the Eastern District of Washington. Our office takes these crimes seriously and will investigate and prosecute all instances of odometer tampering. Mr. Garza’s sentence reflects the harm he imposed on our community. This sentence should serve as a message that odometer tampering is a significant and serious offense that will not be tolerated in our community.”
Jonathan Morrison, Administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), added: “Odometer fraud is a serious and costly crime. It's also dangerous. These purchasers were defrauded into believing that the vehicles were more than 100,000 miles newer than in reality—taking on additional risks from safety-critical components affecting steering and braking... NHTSA will continue to protect Americans from these deceptive and dangerous practices.”
The case was investigated by NHTSA’s Office of Odometer Fraud along with Adams County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jeremy J. Kelley and Jacob E. Brooks.
