Used car dealer ordered to pay restitution for odometer fraud

The owner of a Springfield used car dealership who committed odometer fraud was ordered last week in Greene County Circuit Court to pay restitution to 45 consumer victims.

Ashley Bolton, the former owner of Excel Auto Group, is required to pay $94,416. He also began 30-day shock incarceration April 24, according to a news release.

In January, Bolton was sentenced to four years in the Department of Corrections. However, he can avoid that prison time by completing his 30 days shock incarceration and five years of supervised probation, which includes paying the ordered restitution, refraining from acting as a licensed automobile dealer or agent for a licensed dealer, having no involvement in automobile title transfers and suspending any involvement in automobile actions.

In his September guilty plea to two felony counts of unlawful merchandising practices, Bolton admitted he misrepresented the actual mileage of vehicles his company offered for sale in 2011 and 2012. In one case, he sold a car with over 180,000 miles but said it had 99,000, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, the Missouri Department of Revenue and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration led an investigation against Bolton.[[In-content Ad]]