Serving Franklin County, WA
Serving Franklin County, WA
Garza accused in odometer fraud case
OTHELLO – A local man accused of tampering with odometers made hist first appearance Monday, Sept. 9, in U.S. District Court in Spokane.
Reynaldo Valdez Garza Jr., 52, of Othello, was charged with five counts of odometer tampering following a federal grand jury indictment Sept. 4.
Garza was initially arrested by the Adams County Sheriff’s Office on March 5 for second-degree deception and disconnecting, resetting or reversing odometers and booked into the Franklin County Jail.
The indictment alleges Garza acquired high-mileage cars, tampered with or replaced odometers to show a much lower mileage, and then sold them for a high profit.
In some cases, Garza rolled back the mileage on vehicles by more than 100,000 miles, the indictment said, noting he would wait for a buyer to sign bill-of-sale paperwork before filling in the seller information with false information on the seller’s identity and vehicle miles.
Records show investigators believe he started tampering with odometers in May 2023.
“The purchase of a vehicle is often one of the largest financial commitments people make,” U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref said Monday. “It is important that buyers have confidence in the information they receive when deciding which vehicle to purchase.
“My office is committed to protecting consumers from fraudsters who seek to cheat the system for their own gain.”
The case landed in U.S. District Court after Garza and another man, Terry Ryan Cissne, 49, of Pasco, were accused of odometer fraud. Cissne was arrested on unrelated charges of second-degree theft and driving under the influence April 9.
Cissne was arrested after deputies from both Adams and Franklin County identified “an illegal large-scale vehicle sales operation located at a residence within Franklin County.”
During the investigation, deputies determined Cissne was selling vehicles with fraudulent odometer readings. Searching through sales records showing odometer readings, investigators determined odometers had been altered to deceive buyers.
Deputies raided Cissne’s operation and arrested him, records show. Investigators also linked his activities to those of Garza.
So far, however, Cissne has not been indicted in federal court.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration assisted the Adams County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation of Garza.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Devin Curda is prosecuting the case.
Roger Harnack is the owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Having grown up Benton City, Roger is an award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and publisher. He's one of only two editorial/commentary writers from Washington state to ever receive the international Golden Quill. Roger is dedicated to the preservation of local media, and the voice it retains for Eastern Washington.
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