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Ashley Duff, age 27, and Ginger Sipes, age 58, both of Shirley, are facing fraud and conspiracy charges in Suffolk County Court.
Prosecutors said Duff’s company, ABB Auto World Inc., bought high mileage cars from auctions and then had their odometers rolled back to show lower mileage. Some of the vehicles had over 200,000 miles on them.
Duff and Sipes would then advertise the cars for sale on Facebook Marketplace, charging thousands of dollars more for each car than their actual worth, prosecutors allege. Buyers received sales paperwork noting the falsified mileage, according to investigators.
Between July 2020 and May 2022, more than a dozen victims of the alleged scheme filed complaints with the Suffolk County Police Department, triggering an investigation by the DA’s office.
“Fraudulent business practices such as tampering with vehicle odometers and inflating prices undermines trust in the marketplace which has a devastating impact on honest local business owners and causes consumers to purchase vehicles at artificially inflated prices,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.
“The alleged crimes are impactful, and we intend to prosecute these defendants to the fullest extent of the law.”
Duff and Sipes are each charged with felony scheme to defraud and misdemeanor conspiracy.
Duff was arraigned on Wednesday, April 17, and Sipes appeared in court on Monday, April 22. They were released while their case proceeds.
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