A North Carolina man, Francis Marimo, will spend 18 months in prison for his role in odometer fraud. Marimo was sentenced on Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Louise Wood Flanagan in New Bern, N.C., and will also spend one year of supervised release and pay $190,845 in restitution.
In June, Marimo pleaded guilty to two counts of odometer tampering. According to the Information filed in the case, from 2008 through 2012, Marimo purchased used vehicles primarily through online advertisements, then replaced the existing odometers with odometers showing lower mileages. Marimo sold these vehicles to consumers in the Raleigh, N.C., area while representing the low mileages on the replacement odometers as accurate. Mileage for one of the vehicles was “rolled back” more than 100,000 miles. As part of a plea bargain, Marimo agreed that his conduct had caused between $120,000 and $200,000 in losses to consumers.
“The importance of accurate mileage readings on used car odometers cannot be overstated,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina Thomas G. Walker. “This case demonstrates our determination to protect the consumer from this type of fraud.”
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
