San Jose Residents Plead Guilty To Wire Fraud Conspiracy In Craigslist Automobile Resale Fraud Scheme | USAO-NDCA

SAN FRANCISCO –Ramil Heydarov and Orkhan Aliyev pleaded responsible right now to conspiracy prices relevant to a plan to defraud purchasers of cars on the Craigslist web page by rolling back again the odometers on autos in advance of reselling them, introduced Acting United States Legal professional Stephanie M. Hinds, Homeland Safety Investigations Special Agent in Cost Tatum King, and Federal Bureau of Investigation Exclusive Agent in Cost Craig D. Fair.  The guilty pleas had been recognized by the Honorable Susan Illston, Senior U.S. District Choose, and, alongside with the Oct 12, 2021, responsible plea of Seymur Khalilov, establishes that all three defendants billed in the circumstance have now pleaded guilty to fraud conspiracy expenses.

In accordance to the defendants’ plea agreements, from at the very least Oct 2017 through December 2020, Khalilov, 32 Heydarov, 31 and Aliyev, 32, all of San Jose, conspired to obtain higher-mileage cars, roll back again the odometers, and falsify documentation to make the vehicles appear newer.  Particularly, the co-conspirators altered the odometers of quite a few cars and altered registrations and titles, amid other items, to fraudulently minimize the mileage readings of the motor vehicles and, as a result, improve their income worth.  The co-conspirators then posted adverts of the cars on Craigslist to advertise the automobiles to victims who had been not aware of the fraudulent alterations. On top of that, the defendants admitted working with doctored driver’s licenses that contains their photograph but the names of prior auto entrepreneurs to aid the sale of these automobiles. The co-conspirators just about every acknowledged that the target of the conspiracy was to sell cars to victims for an improved price tag centered on the fraudulent odometer readings. In accordance to the plea agreements, the co-conspirators offered at minimum 78 motor vehicles with rolled back again odometer readings, ensuing in a full loss to the victims of increased than $550,000.

All a few defendants had been charged in a single felony complaint submitted on May 3, 2021, and just about every was billed with a single count of conspiracy to dedicate wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349.  As a consequence of today’s proceedings, all 3 defendants now have pleaded responsible to the cost. In addition, the defendants just about every have agreed as part of their plea agreements to fork out restitution to the victims of the conspiracy in quantities reflecting the defendant’s respective part in the conspiracy.  Khalilov has agreed to pay back restitution in an total concerning $360,000 and $534,072 that will be established by the court. Heydarov agreed to spend restitution in the sum of $379,235 and Aliyev agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $196,578.

Decide Illston scheduled the defendants’ sentencing for February 4, 2022.  In addition to restitution, the conspiracy cost carries a most statutory prison time period of up to 20 decades and a $250,000 great.  The court also could get a time period of supervised release to adhere to the prison phrase.  However, any sentence next conviction would be imposed by the court docket only just after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Suggestions and the federal statute governing imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leif Dautch and Ankur Shingal are prosecuting the circumstance with the aid of Marina Ponomarchuk and Soana Katoa.  The prosecution is the outcome of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the California Department of Motor Vehicles Investigations Division in Vallejo, the San Ramon Police Office, and the Countrywide Highway Transportation Protection Administration Office environment of Odometer Fraud Investigations.