Fedex Sued Over “Largest Odometer Fraud Scheme” in US History
When we hear stories about odometer rollbacks, which involve misrepresenting a car’s mileage through various means, we typically associate them with shady DIY mechanics or sellers on platforms like Facebook Marketplace. It’s not surprising in those cases. However, if a publicly traded international powerhouse company is allegedly involved in such a case, it definitely raises eyebrows. I mean, how much money could such an action really produce that it’s worth it for such a massive company to participate knowingly?
This is the subject of an ongoing court case concerning FedEx. Yes, the very company that delivers your packages is currently embroiled in a legal battle over allegations of odometer rollback fraud. In fact, they have been accused of orchestrating the “largest odometer rollback fraud scheme” in US history. The lawsuit claims that FedEx sold thousands of retired package delivery trucks that had been tampered with. The consumers are said to have been none the wiser of such crafty modifications.
According to the allegations, FedEx deliberately sold these vehicles with inaccurate odometer readings. They allegedly replaced the original odometers with new ones that displayed zero mileage and then continued using the trucks for a period of time. Eventually, these vehicles were sold with advertised mileages that were significantly lower than their actual mileage.
Normally, FedEx vans accumulate a substantial number of miles due to their daily long-distance package deliveries. The company used to scrap these vehicles after a certain point, but in 2011, they started auctioning them off through a fleet company that is also named in the lawsuit.
To be clear, swapping an odometer itself is not illegal. It is also not illegal to sell a vehicle after swapping the odometer. However, it is mandatory for the seller to disclose any such alterations.
Below, Steve Lehto attempts to dissect the case to shed more light on what’s going on. Hopefully, this is all just one big mistake.
