Man in custody in automobile fraud case

A Johnson Lane man is in custody in lieu of $50,000 bail on multiple counts of fraud related to the sales of automobiles.

William Wilkins, 54, was arrested Wednesday on a warrant issued by East Fork Justice Court on six counts of obtaining money by false pretenses and being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, Wilkins allegedly rolled back the odometer on four vehicles and misrepresented that two vehicles were in good condition, when they were actually salvaged.

The Department of Motor Vehicles opened an investigation into Wilkins' activities after receiving a complaint in July.

A check of the DMV database revealed that Wilkins sold seven vehicles in a year, according to the information provided in support of a search warrant of his home. According to the state, a dealer's license is required if more than three vehicles are sold during the course of a year.

The investigator contacted several of the people to whom Wilkins sold vehicles. In one case the original vehicle had nearly 250,000 miles on it, but the odometer said it had fewer than 80,000 miles.

Wilkins would sell the vehicles at corners, including Highway 395 and Clearview.