Men charged in fraudulent inspection of 18 vehicles

WEST VALLEY — Two men have been charged for their alleged involvement in a string of fraudulent vehicle safety inspections.

The men, both age 27, were charged with one count of communications fraud, a third-degree felony,  and five counts of recording a false or forged instrument, a third-degree felony, according to charges filed Tuesday in 3rd District Court.

A woman told police that she had recently purchased a Honda Accord from a dealership co-owned by the two men, according to the charges. Soon after the purchase, the woman took the car back to the dealership and requested that emissions, inspection and registration be completed for the vehicle. The dealership took the car for a short time, after which they told the woman the inspections were complete and charged her an additional fee.

The woman told a trooper of the Utah Highway Patrol that within the first month of having her vehicle returned she had to continually spend money on mechanical problems and suspected the car could not have passed a safety inspection.

The trooper obtained the registration information, which indicated the inspection was completed by a third-party individual on Nov. 2, 2010, according to the charges. After relaying this information, the woman told police that the vehicle was in her possession at that time. While investigating the matter, the trooper discovered 10 additional inspections that were completed by a third-party inspector for the two men.

The inspector told the trooper that he completed 10 safety inspections fraudulently, without inspecting the vehicles. According to the charges, he did the false inspections as a favor to another man, who would pay him $30 to $40 for each certificate.

That man told police that his friend would pay him $50 for the certificates. His friend was an associate of the two men charged and had allegedly worked out a system where the two men would give him vehicle information, which he would then pass on to a licensed inspector.

According to the charges, the trooper found evidence of fraudulent inspections being performed on 18 vehicles between June and November 2010.

— Benjamin Wood