A Bountiful man charged with 36 felony counts of forgery and theft by deception in a used car odometer rollback scheme pleaded guilty to three charges of forgery in 2nd District Court.
Barry K. Burnham, 58, 390 E. 17th South, pleaded guilty Tuesday to forging false odometer readings on the titles of three vehicles, which he resold to other dealers.Prosecutor Robert Hart told Judge Rodney S. Page that Burnham bought cars from leasing agencies with 60,000 to 70,000 miles on them while working as an unlicensed salesman at Bountiful Motors between April and September of last year.
He then rolled the odometers back to 25,000 to 35,000 miles, Hart said, substantially increasing the value of the vehicles. After altering the odometer readings on the titles, Burnham resold the cars to other dealers. The scheme may have netted Burnham up to $25,000, according to prosecutors.
Hart said 12 vehicles have been traced so far, but said there could be others.
Burnham was charged with 36 second-degree felony counts: 12 of forgery, 12 of theft by deception, and 12 of making a false odometer statement. Each carried a prison term of 1 to 15 years and a fine of up to $10,000.
In a plea negotiation with the Davis County Attorney's Office, Burnham agreed to plead guilty to three second-degree felony charges. Sentencing is set for Oct. 18.