Sandra Steele, owner of Desert Title Service, recently admitted in court to inputting false information to bypass emissions testing for customers. Steele pleaded guilty this week to one count of Forgery and to one count of Fraudulent Schemes and Practices.
Desert Title Service was an Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division Authorized Third Party title and registration company. It was authorized by ADOT to conduct title and registration transactions.
Investigators say between June 2012 and August 2015, Steele issued vehicle registrations for 30 different trucks belonging to a Tempe company without the proper emissions testing. Evidence also revealed that Steele had issued registrations for several private citizens, without proper emissions testing.