Man gets house arrest for helping dealership tweak odometers

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - A man will spend a year under house arrest for helping a used car dealership roll back odometers.

The Virginian-Pilot reported (http://bit.ly/2d7N0It) Thursday that Steven Bazemore is so far the only person named in an ongoing investigation. The scheme was based out of a now-closed dealership in Virginia and defrauded more than 75 customers from that state, North Carolina, Illinois and Georgia.

Bazemore helped falsify titles while working for the city of Norfolk as a contractor for the Department of Motor Vehicles. On average, they said the vehicles had fewer than 110,000 miles than they actually did.

Some of buyers later paid higher repair costs than they might have with lower-mileage vehicles.

Bazemore cooperated with investigators and pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to commit securities fraud. His attorney said she expects more people to be charged.

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This story has been corrected to show that Bazemore worked for the city of Norfolk as a contractor for the Department of Motor Vehicles. He was not a DMV employee.

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Information from: The Virginian-Pilot, http://pilotonline.com