Two Maryland men have been federally indicted for selling old used cars and lying about their mileage.
Federal prosecutors say Jerry John Mathins, 50 of Laurel, and Braysean Owens, 23 of Baltimore, bought the cars at auction, before tampering with the titles and odometers making them appear to have lower mileage.
The pair allegedly sold the vehicles on behalf of B-City Auto & Detailing in Rosedale.
Hundreds of buyers paid thousands of dollars for the cars without knowing their true mileage, according to the indictment.
“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,” says FBI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno.
If convicted, Owens faces up to 10 years in prison for each securities fraud count and Mathins faces up to 5 years in prison for the conspiracy to commit odometer tampering count.