SAN JOSE – The U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged three San Jose residents with rolling back the odometers of used vehicles and then reselling them on Craigslist at significant profits.
Seymur Khalilov, 32, Ramil Heydarov, 31, and Orkhan Aliyev, 31, also allegedly falsified documentation to make the vehicles appear newer, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday.
Prosecutors said the defendants sold at least a dozen vehicles for a total of $300,000.
Beginning in 2016, the trio conspired to purchase high-mileage or older-model vehicles, roll back the odometers and alter documentation, including titles and registrations, to reflect the lower mileage and other fraudulent information, the complaint alleges.
The changes, prosecutors said, were made with the goal of increasing the sale price of the vehicles.
Each defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum statutory penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The trio made their initial court appearance Wednesday, prosecutors said. Aliyev’s next court date is Thursday, and Khalilov and Heydarov’s next court date is Friday.
