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TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni
announced that the owner of a now-defunct
used car dealership in Elizabeth pleaded
guilty today to a theft charge for rolling
back odometers on more than 20 cars he sold.
According
to Director Gramiccioni, Luther Lewis, 30,
of Elizabeth, pleaded guilty before Judge
Joseph P. Donohue in Union County to second-degree
theft by deception for rolling back odometers
on vehicles that he sold as co-owner and
operator of Atlantic Auto Sales at 310 Atlantic
Street in Elizabeth. The charge was contained
in a Jan. 25, 2008 indictment obtained by
the Division of Criminal Justice. Under
the plea agreement, which also covers two
separate guilty pleas he entered today,
the state will recommend a five-year prison
sentence for Lewis.
Lewis’
sentencing is set for April 24. Deputy Attorney
General Vincent J. Militello prosecuted
the case and took the pleas for the Division
of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. The
case was investigated by the Division of
Criminal Justice and the Motor Vehicle Commission.
Detectives Nicholas Olenick and Ruben Contreras
investigated for the Division of Criminal
Justice.
Lewis
admitted that between October 2001 and January
2008, he purchased 22 used vehicles, rolled
back their odometers to a fraction of the
original mileage, and then re-sold them
to buyers who were unaware of the rollbacks.
The
two other pleas Lewis entered today relate
to separate state grand jury indictments
obtained this summer by the Division of
Criminal Justice. Lewis pleaded guilty to
third-degree insurance fraud for claiming
that a 2008 Cadillac Escalade he leased
was stolen, when in fact he stored it in
a garage rented by a friend. Before the
vehicle was found, GEICO Insurance Company
paid a claim filed by Lewis for loss of
personal property and taxes on the vehicle,
as well as a claim filed by GMAC, the lienholder
on the vehicle. Lewis must pay restitution
on the Escalade.
Lewis
also pleaded guilty to third-degree theft
by deception for stealing a 1995 Chevrolet
Impala from his girlfriend. The car had
been a gift from him and was registered
in her name. He changed the title to his
name without her permission by forging her
name on title documents.
The
investigation began in 2005, when the Motor
Vehicle Commission alerted the Division
of Criminal Justice about a rolled back
odometer on a Mercedes Benz sold by Atlantic
Auto Sales.
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