Wisconsin concludes odometer fraud investigation
Wisconsin concludes odometer fraud investigation
More than 100,000 miles were erased from her car's odometer. Now, a Lake Villa, Illinois woman has learned the outcome of a state investigation into her vehicle's history.
LAKE VILLA, Ill. - More than 100,000 miles were erased from her car's odometer. Now, a Lake Villa, Illinois woman has learned the outcome of a state investigation into her vehicle's history.
To the salvage yard
What we know:
Dina Piazza has never been so happy to see her car on the back of a tow truck. In March, she finally sent it to a salvage yard.
"(The salvage business) came and picked it up, towed it away, and now it is out of my life," said Piazza. "I won't put anyone else through the misery of trying to fix that mess."
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android
It was the sixth time Piazza's car had been towed since she bought it in 2023.
"All these things were going wrong with it pretty much as soon as I bought it," said Piazza.
Car problems
Dig deeper:
Last year, Piazza showed Contact 6 the many problems with her 2007 GMC Acadia.
"It'll probably drive home, but along the way, who knows what will happen," Piazza said in 2024.
Dina Piazza
Piazza paid $6,000 for the car. Then, came the repair bills for its battery, sensors, fuel injectors and more.
"Thousands and thousands of dollars later, it still wasn't running," said Piazza.
The discovery
After seeing a Contact 6 report about odometer fraud, Piazza got a CARFAX. The salon owner made a troubling discovery. In 2020, her car had 206,000 miles listed. In 2024, her odometer showed nearly 115,000 miles.
The investigation
What's next:
An investigator for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) got to work.
"He did a very good investigation. He talked to every single person who owned the car, where they got it, whether they saw it on Craiglist," said Piazza.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
The investigation report says the car's odometer was altered at least three years ago. The investigator spoke with two of the car's former owners on the phone, who either bought or sold the car on Craigslist.
A third owner of the vehicle mailed the DOT a response to a questionnaire. He said he had no records from the sale. The state closed the case saying, without knowing who the man sold the car to, it could not "establish a clear chain-of-ownership nor a clear mileage history."
The Source: The information in this post comes from WisDOT, Piazza and CARFAX.