MICHAEL MARKS, 31, of Wichita, Kansas, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit odometer tampering, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
Public records reflect that on February 10, 2023, Marks was charged by Information with one count of conspiring to alter the odometers of motor vehicles. The Information alleges that between August 2017 and July 2022, Marks and his coconspirators purchased 15 used vehicles, altered their odometers to register lower mileages, and then resold the vehicles to unsuspecting buyers. Federal law prohibits conspiring to knowingly and willfully disconnect, reset, and alter an odometer of a motor vehicle intending to change the registered odometer mileage.
Today, Marks pleaded guilty to the Information. Marks will be sentenced in approximately 90 days. At sentencing, Marks faces up to three years of imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. Under the terms of his plea agreement with the government, Marks has also agreed to pay restitution to the victims who purchased the 15 vehicles.
This case is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney D.H. Dilbeck.