A former employee of the Norfolk Commissioner of the Revenue pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court for his part in issuing dozens of fraudulent motor vehicle titles.
Steven Bazemore, 33, of Virginia Beach, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, according to the Department of Justice. He faces a maximum of five years in prison at sentencing on Aug. 31.
Bazemore admitted that he created at least 76 titles with false, low mileage readings for a co-conspirator who was a licensed salvage dealer, according to a Department of Justice release. The Norfolk Commissioner of the Revenue’s office contracts with the Department of Motor Vehicles to provide select DMV services, included titling. Bazemore admitted to creating the false mileage readings while employed as a clerk at the DMV Select site.
“This defendant abused his public position to assist a large odometer tampering scheme by issuing fraudulent vehicle titles,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
The co-conspirator, whom the Justice Department did not name, used the fraudulent titles to sell many of the vehicles for inflated prices; in return for the title work, Bazemore received cash payments from the co-conspirator, according to the Justice Department.
Special agents of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation and the Virginia DMV investigated the case. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that odometer fraud in the U.S. results in consumer losses of more than $1 billion annually.
