Stuart used car dealer gets 8 months in jail for rolling back odometers
April 29th, 2010 by Daphne DuretPeople in the car business call it the oldest used car scam in the book.
Rolling back odometers so buyers can think they’re buying cars with lower miles actually costs American consumers an estimate $1 billion per year, according to national statistics.
For Marc Plotnick, the 50-year-old former owner of Plotty’s Discount Motors in Stuart, use of the age old practice won him an 8-month jail sentence this morning.
Marc Plotnick, second from left, who formerly owned of Plotty's Used Car Sales, looks out to the audience during his sentencing on Thurs., April 29, 2010, for rolling back the odometers on used cars he later sold. Staff photo by Sarah Grile/The Palm Beach Post.
Detectives at the time of Plotnick’s arrest said they believed he could have ordered the rollbacks on up to 100 cars over three years, but Plotnick pleaded no contest to odometer fraud charges involving 13 cars, along with organized fraud and other charges.
In exchange, prosecutors agreed to cap their sentence recommendation at 14 months in prison, although Plotnick could have faced 140 years in prison on the felony charges.
“They were misled. I was wrong,” a contrite Plotnick said of his customers before Judge Steve Levin sentenced him. “It was poor judgement on my part. It had a lot to do with greed.”
It was greed, detectives said, that allowed Plotnick to live in a 3,500 square foot house, own several vintage cars and a 36-foot boat while selling cars to customers like Marilyn Saitta, who thought the $1,600 car she purchased had about 99,000 miles only to find out after it broke down that a Carfax report listed the mileage at more than 177,000 a year earlier.
But several happy customers told Levin this morning that Plotnick treated them fairly, often replacing cars or paying out of his pocket for repairs when they complained of problems with their cars.
Martin County Sheriff’s Det. Carlo Sciandra told Levin that used car salesmen like Plotnick were the ones that fed negative stereotypes about the profession.
Plotnick’s attorney Robert Watson presented testimony from a single mother and member of Plotnick’s church who testified he gave her a free Honda Accord. Watson said although Plotnick committed a crime, he’s had to sell nearly everything he owns to pay legal fees and the $28,000 in restitution to customers, many of whom are still driving the cars they purchased.
“I had some people in my office hugging me because they couldn’t believe they were getting to keep both their car and the money,” Watson said.
Levin, however, who ordered Plotnick spend a year on house arrest and three years on probation after his release, thought that Plotnick’s crime was serious enough that he deserved jail time on top of the paybacks.
“What you basically did was smile at these people, gave them a good attitude, and fooled them,” Levin said.
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April 29th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
arm Mike Greco and arl save yew towsends, ar garunteee it!!
Is he not the most obnoxious car dealer pitch man on tv?
April 29th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
It would take a long time to drive all those cars backwards to get the mileage rolled back. Not an easy task.
April 29th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
“…often replacing cars or paying out of his pocket for repairs when they complained of problems with their cars”
This make sense when you don’t want to be caught cheating your customer. Make everything right to keep the prying eyes away from his fraud!
April 29th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Report Scammer’s like him to http://www.WhoScammedYou.com.
Help Warn the next Guy!!
April 29th, 2010 at 4:27 pm
I don’t want to stand in a glass house and throw stones. However, it seems that taking a shortcut to get to step 10 eventually places you right back at step 1.
April 29th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
I always tell my cousins never trust a man with a mullet!
April 29th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
this business was rated A on the better business bureau. Alphonse Capone Founder of the BBB would have been proud of him.
April 29th, 2010 at 8:58 pm
You would be amazed at how many used car dealers have the new machines for digital speedometers and misuse their dealers license plates.
April 29th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
I think I could have guessed he’d have a good rating from the Better Business Bureau- they are totally corrupt like most Republicans.
April 29th, 2010 at 10:23 pm
Got to be a Democrat as they can’t afford new cars. Yea Right!
April 29th, 2010 at 10:29 pm
If customers came to him with complaints and he fixed them to keep from getting caught, that explains his good grade with the BBB. If no one complained to BBB he would have maintained a good grade, and for those that did complain to BBB, if he resolved their complaint to customers satisfaction, he also keeps his good grade. Factor in that most buyers of $2000 used cars aren’t sophisticated enough to pursue a claim with BBB, so don’t blame the BBB, they can’t report what they don’t know about.
April 29th, 2010 at 10:40 pm
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May 2nd, 2010 at 11:55 pm
My cousin recommended this blog and she was totally right keep up the fantastic work!
May 11th, 2010 at 10:14 pm
we can’t throw stones as we have all done wrong some time or another in our life. him apologizing is more then others have done for doing wrong. forgive and want to be forgiven is what we are taught in life. life is tough enough, let go and let live. find other issues in life to worry about, such as natural disasters going on., floods, cancer outbreaks, forest fires, oil spills etc…
May 11th, 2010 at 10:17 pm
you couldn’t have said it better Lynn!!
Amen and lets move on. This oil spill is much more important.
This family needs prayers more then all of the useless words above.
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May 16th, 2012 at 10:55 am
[...] Marc Plotnick, former owner of Plotty’s Discount Motors in Stuart, Florida was facing a potential sentence of 140 years of jail time on odometer fraud and other felony charges. What Plotnick got from the court was a slap on the wrist by comparison. The former used car dealer received an 8 month jail sentence, a year of house arrest and three years of probation. Prosecutors in Plotnick’s case had made a sentence recommendation of 14 months in prison as part of his plea agreement, but Judge Steve Levin thought otherwise. Staff photo by Sarah Grile/The Palm Beach Post. [...]