South Salt Lake Residents Sentenced for Odometer Fraud

Salt Lake City, Utah – The final defendant who pleaded guilty to an odometer fraud scheme was sentenced today to time served, one year of supervised release, and ordered by the court to pay restitution. 

Austin K. Weilacher, 22, of South Salt Lake, Utah, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge David B. Barlow. His codefendant, Porter R. Hamblin, 20, of South Salt Lake, received a similar sentence on August 16, 2024, after the duo admitted in June 2024 to engaging in a fraudulent scheme to sell vehicles with broken or false odometers. 

According to court documents and statements made at the change of plea hearing, Weilacher and Hamblin defrauded numerous victims in Utah who purchased vehicles on KSL.com between May 2023 and July 2023. Weilacher and Hamblin admitted they purchased older model vehicles, cleaned them up, and would either break, disable or cover the odometers, generate fake Carfax reports, and then sell the vehicles to unsuspecting Utah customers. The defendants would then inflate the price of the vehicles and use the money to purchase more vehicles to sell to more victims or purchase high end vehicles for themselves. For example, with money made from their scheme, Weilacher and Hamblin purchased a McLaren sports car, which was subsequently destroyed, and Hamblin was set to receive $150,000 in insurance proceeds for the crash of his vehicle. Once victims realized they had been swindled, they would try to contact the defendants, who were unreachable. 

“Mr. Weilacher and Mr. Hamblin created financial hardships for victims trying to purchase reliable vehicles,” said U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins of the District of Utah. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute people who harm our citizens through fraud.”

“Fraud of this type puts our communities' safety at risk and negatively impacts legitimate commerce," said HSI Las Vegas Special Agent in Charge Chris Miller. "This case should warn others tempted to engage in fraudulent activity that HSI will aggressively pursue you and ensure you are held accountable."

“We urge the public to exercise caution. If a deal seems too good to be true, it likely is,” said Chief Jason Mazuran, Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake. “Always verify the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and run your own vehicle report before purchasing a vehicle to avoid falling victim to similar schemes. We are pleased that the victims will receive restitution and grateful for the efforts of all involved in bringing this case to a resolution.”

The case was investigated jointly by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake (UPD). 

Assistant United States Attorney Stewart M. Young of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case.