DORAL, Fla. – Police arrested the owner of a Miami-Dade County car dealership for selling a vehicle after tampering with the odometer.
Authorities took 41-year-old Alejandro Quintero into custody on Tuesday, Aug. 3.
According to Miami-Dade police, the victim in this case purchased a vehicle from Elite Motors in Doral, which is owned by Quintero.
The victim bought a 2010 Mazda CX9 with an odometer reading approximately 100,000 miles for $9,148.80 back in October of last year, according to an arrest report.
After the vehicle began having mechanical issues, the victim brought it to Carmax in order to obtain an estimate on its value, per the report.
Upon inspection, it was revealed that the odometer had been tampered with and the mileage displayed was not the actual milage of the car, according to authorities.
Police said when the victim contacted Quintero and asked for a refund, he admitted to changing the mileage, claiming it was due to a new engine being put in the car, and asked for the vehicle to be sold back to him.
The victim refused and contacted authorities, filing a police report.
Authorities were able to ascertain that when Quintero purchased the vehicle at an auction, it had 181,887 miles on it.
Quintero was arrested on charges of altering or tampering with an odometer on a motor vehicle and organized scheme with intent to defraud.
Investigators believe there may be more customers of Elite Motors that may have been victimized by the business.
They are urged to contact the Miami-Dade Police Auto Theft Unit at 305-471-2800 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.