Buying a used car often feels like a balancing act. You find something with the right price, clean interior, and maybe mileage that makes you think it has plenty of life left. That’s exactly what a lot of drivers in Whitehall, Ohio, thought they had found…only to later learn the numbers on the dash weren’t telling the truth.

Federal investigators said Simon Nwaru Jr., 38, was the man behind that deception.

Nwaru owned and operated S. Automotive Ltd., a used car dealership in Central Ohio

From November 2020 to May 2022, he admitted to altering odometers on vehicles before selling them.

Court filings show he would reset or roll back mileage to make worn cars appear fresher and more valuable than they really were.

The illegal behavior wasn’t only happening from 2020 to 2022, either.

The scope was staggering

Prosecutors reported that about 60% of the used cars sold by Nwaru since October 2014 had their odometers tampered with.

Beyond misleading buyers, officials said he also reported false sales prices on paperwork submitted to the state. Doing this shortchanged Ohio on tax revenue.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio confirmed the used car dealer pleaded guilty in federal court

Odometer fraud carries a potential penalty of up to three years in prison.

His case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation, and the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles Investigations Section.

This type of fraud, while seemingly out of a movie (Matilda, anyone?), actually isn’t rare

Spectrum News also shared that the NHTSA estimates odometer tampering costs U.S. consumers over $1 billion every year. That’s money lost not only in inflated car prices but in unexpected repair bills that come with vehicles much older than advertised.

Officials reminded the public that odometer fraud can be reported through your local Department of Transportation by phone or email.