BALTIMORE, Md. — Chief Judge George L. Russell III sentenced Kamal Khalid, 44, of Pasadena, Maryland, to 36 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud stemming from his role in an odometer rollback scheme.
Russell previously sentenced Khalid’s younger brother and co-conspirator, Fnu Shahrukh, 31, of Severna Park, Maryland, to 18 months of incarceration for his role in the scheme. Russell also ordered both defendants to pay about $1.2 million in restitution to their victims.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentences with Jonathan Morrison, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“Khalid and his brother preyed on unsuspecting people simply looking to buy a reliable used car. But instead, these victims were deceived into purchasing vehicles that were well past their prime, so now the perpetrators must face the consequence of their criminal actions,” Hayes said. “We, along with our law-enforcement partners, are committed to protecting consumers from those who target others to deceive them out of their hard-earned money.”
“Odometer fraud is a serious crime that not only costs consumers billions of dollars every year, but also makes our roads more dangerous,” Morrison said. “In this case, the co-conspirators lowered the average vehicle’s mileage by 124,000, resulting in consumers grossly overpaying for used vehicles near or past their expected lifespans. Buyers were purchasing vehicles without knowing that critical components like brakes, belts and fluids were long past their service dates. Used car buyers deserve to know the true history of their vehicles before purchase, and we encourage everyone to learn how to identify odometer fraud and protect themselves before signing on the dotted line.”
On April 7, 2025, Shahrukh pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. On May 28, Khalid pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and one count of securities fraud.
As part of their plea agreements, both admitted that between 2016 and 2019 they engaged in a scheme to sell used vehicles with false, low-mileage readings entered on the vehicles’ odometers and titles to unwitting consumers.
They admitted purchasing high-mileage vehicles from auto auctions, altering the odometers to reflect false, lower mileage readings, and obtaining motor-vehicle titles with the falsified mileages. They then used the fraudulent titles and odometer readings to sell the vehicles both through auto auctions and directly to consumers.
On average, the co-conspirators lowered mileages by 124,000 miles. That deception allowed them to inflate prices, causing consumers to pay more than they likely would have if they knew the true high mileage.
Hayes commended NHTSA for investigating the case and the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration for its assistance. She also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Phelps, Senior Litigation Counsel David Sullivan and Trial Attorney Manu J. Sebastian of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch for prosecuting the case.
Individuals with information about odometer tampering should call NHTSA’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236. More information on odometer fraud, including prevention tips, is available on NHTSA’s website.
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities and fraud-reporting resources, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach
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