BALTIMORE, MD—Federal authorities have charged two Maryland men with conspiracy to commit odometer tampering and securities fraud, alleging they sold hundreds of vehicles with falsely lowered odometers.

Jerry John Mathins, 50, of Laurel, and Braysean Owens, 23, of Baltimore, were indicted by a federal grand jury, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland said in a news release.

Authorities allege Owens bought used vehicles with high mileages at auction and altered the titles to reflect lower readings.

Owens and Mathins then allegedly lowered the odometers to match the altered titles.

The men sold the vehicles, through B-City Auto & Detailing in Rosedale, to unsuspecting buyers who paid thousands of dollars more than they would have if they knew the true mileage, according to the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s office.

“This was an elaborate scheme that targeted hundreds of unsuspecting car buyers who trusted they were purchasing cars with accurate mileage. Our thorough investigation illustrates how Mathins and Owens deceived these buyers to illegally line their own pockets,” FBI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno said in a statement.

If convicted, Owens faces up to 10 years in prison for each of the three counts of securities fraud. Mathins faces up to five years for conspiracy to commit odometer tampering.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said odometer fraud costs consumers more than $1 billion annually.

Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of odometer fraud can call the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236.

This article was written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a human editor.

Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels