Illinois man convicted of Odometer tampering

An Illinois man, Hussein Ghzo, 42, of Palos Heights, was convicted last Friday of conspiracy to defraud. Ghzo, along with his brother Laith Ghzo, 38, and Musab Sawai, 36, conspired to change the odometer readings of thousands of used cars and sell them to unsuspecting buyers.

According to court documents and testimony presented at trial, the defendants bought long-distance cars at auctions and brought them to Chicago. They then changed the odometer reading to reflect the low mileage, falsified title documents to reflect this false reading, and submitted the false titles to the Illinois Secretary of State. Later, the cars were sold at other auctions with false primary titles and false odometer readings.

Testimony in the case revealed that Hussein Ghzo was warned three different times that the cars he was selling were set back kilometers. Despite these warnings, he continued to participate in the program, including impersonating other people to hide his identity. US District Judge Manish S. Shah of the Northern District of Illinois is presiding over the case.

Senior Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, emphasized the department’s commitment to prosecuting those who deceive consumers. He mentioned that this system deprives consumers of important information about the safety of cars and the cost of repairing them in the future.

Hussein Ghzo is scheduled to be sentenced on January 22, 2025, and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. A district court judge will decide any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors.

Ghzo’s brother, Laith Ghzo, and Musab Sawai have previously pleaded guilty to charges related to the matter and are awaiting sentencing. Laith Ghzo will be sentenced on October 31, while Sawai’s sentencing date has not been set.