six people sentenced for tampering with the meters of more than 350 cars for almost 10 years

The sentences handed down against six people tried for “organized gang fraud”, in a case of tampered with car meters, range from seven months suspended to 18 months, reports Tuesday November 14 France Bleu Nord. A seventh person was released.

All seven – aged 25 to 42 and from Valenciennois and the Lille metropolis – were tried for having falsified the counter of more than 350 used cars between 2009 and 2017. These cars were often imported from Belgium then resold on the good corner. Some counters have seen their mileage reduced by 130,000 kms. This trafficking was estimated at the time at 1.7 million euros by investigators.

128 victims became civil parties

The defendants were also ordered to pay fines ranging from 3,000 to 20,000 euros. They are banned from managing establishments for five years. In this case, 128 victims became civil parties. Some of those convicted must therefore also pay a sum of more than 120,000 euros for moral and material damage.

The traffic was dismantled in 2017 in the Valenciennes region. The suspects bought mid-range cars in Belgium and then reduced the mileage on the meters using sophisticated electronic equipment. They then resold the cars on the website the good corner with false invoices.