Car purchase fraud issue.....what's next course of action

I need some clear input as to how to proceed recovering $$$ spent on purchase.....

Short version to the story....
I had been looking for an early Honda Ridgeline, 06-09 for a few months...knew of the issues to look for but was completely caught off guard with odometer rollback/fraud on this vehicle....
The reason I bought the truck was because of the lower miles for the 06 year, and personally checking out the undercarriage of the car, motor, brakes, interior, catalytic converter area, it appeared that the truck was a low mileage vehicle based on what I saw.....no telltale signs of detailing out the undercarriage with a power washer, etc....
Bought the truck and drove it home from LA....ran fine, everything worked as it should....
Took it to my mechanic on Thursday, instructing him to change all fluids, thoroughly go through the truck and create a list of potential items that would need to be addressed and repaired in the future.....
He calls me up on Friday at lunchtime telling me he's getting some weird error codes as he was running diagnostics.....

As an Example: "B1008 MICU Lost Communication with Gauge Control Module (A/T Message)
*I have included printed readout of his Vehicle System Report as an attachment.

He recommended I pull a report on the vehicle, so I go online and order up a AutoCheck Vehicle History Report....I have included some of the pages of that report as an attachment so you can see the discrepancies in mileage....

Turns out this truck was sold at auction on May 5th 2021 with an odometer reading of 345,081 miles.
Then, on May 14th 2021 truck passed emission inspection with mileage listed as 125,038.
ON 6/16/21 truck was registered and pink slip issued.

I purchased the truck on July 9th based on his ad listing the truck as having 125,000 miles.

It is now clear to me the guy has already proven himself to be a liar....when I enquired about how long he had owned the truck, he had told me 6 months. Not possible when I had purchased the truck on July 9th.
This would have established his ownership from January 2021.....truck could not have sold at auction had he been the owner for the last 6 months.

The question I have for anyone who may have had any experience in dealing with this type fraud is...
Whats my next move to get my money back and pursue charges against the jerk....

I would be happy just to get my money back and moving forward, having learned a very important lesson regarding vehicle purchases in this current environment, ALWAYS....ALWAYS....check out the car history prior to purchase.....

Attached are a few pages of documents substantiating the data.....
Any rational and effective course of action to accomplish my aim would be appreciated....

Thanks

 

That’s the short version?
JK
Actually I think it is a criminal offense to roll back an odometer and sign it as actual on the title. I’d start with the police.
Good luck

 

Do you know the date he purchased it? It could of gone through several dealers before he got it.
Shouldn’t be hard for DMV to figure out who rolled the odometer back.
Tell him your filing a complaint with his DMV, he’ll be in deep shit with them if he’s the one who rolled it back.
I’d think he’d take it straight back if he’s the responsible one and knows DMV will investigate, he’d loose his dealer license for this.

 

^^^^ This

In Iowa at least they take odometer fraud very seriously. His least painful course of action would be to give you your money back.

I returned a truck once. Luckily I caught it a couple hours after picking it up and stopped payment on the check(seller didn't know that). After he went through a little bit of bullshit, "there must be a clerical error", he was like just bring it back.

 

OP, Elliott Ness told me you and Youngblood were the guys to handle this kinda thing. Can't handle this situation on your own?

 

Did he attest to the mileage on title or did he check the “not actual mileage”. I’m guessing he will say he had no idea unless there is proof he owned it when the mileage was actual. Not just your timeline, but the mileage timeline coupled with transfer / ownership documentation.

 

Interesting that this Autocheck report I just pulled doesn’t see the odometer roll back.
Either way this deal needs to be unwound all the way back to whoever did the rollback.
This is why DMV need to be involved, someone committed fraud and I’m sure DMV would like to know who.
If it was him, and he’s even remotely smart, he’ll take it back.

 

Always good to listen to your backup.....may see something you don't

 

Appreciate the info....thanks

You are correct, as it is not showing up on the page you attached....mileage discrepancy shows up beginning on page5 of my report under Detailed Vehicle History.....Shows up on my AutoCheck Report as a discrepancy in the mileage reading on the 5/11/21 ODO readout of 345,081 miles and the 5/14/21 ODO readout of 125,038.........basically 220,043 miles have disappeared into the ethers in a matter of 2 or 3 days?

 

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv-complaints-ffinv-1/

T'is all I got.
Incurrent market, people get fuckin' shady as fook.

 

Unless there is a guarantee that involving authorities will get your money back, vs handing the truck back...I'd consider discussing those courses of action with him and get him to accept the return with your money back. Then call the authorities to stop the sh1tbag doing it to other people.

 

Just above RonR's post it shows vehicle sold at auction on 5/11 with 345k on the odometer then passed emissions at the DMV on 5/14 with 125k on the odometer. I doubt several dealers had their fingers in the mix in 3 days.

A call to the guy explaining the 'discrepancy' should get an offer to buy the vehicle back. I would go to the DMV first though, this POS should be busted for altering the mileage. This is if he didn't check 'mileage is accurate' on the title. He may have pulled a fast one by swapping the cluster, which would explain the error code, and then sold as mileage unknown due to the cluster swap.

 

Private party or a dealership? In California dealers have a $50k bond through the DMV to cover issues like this. If private party, it’s a different matter. I can probably help you on Monday if needed.

 

This exact rollback situation happened to my buddy when he purchased a used Civic in Sacramento a few years back. He tried to look up the guys name and address on the title, but it was fake information. In the end, I think he just fixed it up and drove it for a few years.

 

Unless there is a clear path to getting a remedy then taking it on the chin might not be the worst thing.

 

Thought about burning down his house?

 

If the guy's a dealer, he's screwed. If he's a private seller, he's more than likely screwed. Seeing as it was altered within 3 days of the auction, it should be easy to figure out who did it. File a complaint, and then contact the seller and tell him you know what's up.

These kind of shit eaters need put out of business. For a lot of people, a car purchase is a huge deal and can be life changing.

 

Did you not pull a Carfax autocheck before you bought it? Sadly if the odometer not actual milage box is checked there is no fraud and not much recourse

 

Whoa, skipping the fort!?

 

I'm missing the part where OP said that the not actual mileage box was checked...

Can OP clear this up?