Montco Mechanic Facing 81 Felonies In Fake Inspection Scheme: DA

NORRISTOWN, PA — A mechanic who worked around Montgomery County forged dozens of commercial vehicle and truck certification and inspection stickers, claiming they were safe to use without actually analyzing for potential dangers, the district attorney's office announced.

Some of the vehicles had serious deficiencies and the man was paid off to ignore them, authorities said.

Fares Farhat, 50, of Halifax in Dauphin County faces 81 felony counts of forgery and related charges.

“Sadly, we have seen first- hand in Montgomery County the tragedy that can result when a 32,000 pound dump truck is on the road when it shouldn’t be and a crash occurs—lives are lost," District Attorney Kevin Steele said in a statement.

The investigation began when PennDOT officials and Pennsylvania state troopers began noticing safety inspection stickers missing essential security features, officials said.

"These counterfeit safety inspection stickers were found on commercial vehicles that had severe mechanical deficiencies, including worn or separating brake pads and other conditions that would have made them inoperable under Pennsylvania and federal law and taken them out of service and off the roadways," the district attorney's office said.

Farhat was certified as a state inspection mechanic, but had been suspended, preventing him from legally issuing any stickers.

Farhat ran multiple businesses, including “A+ Auto Inspections” and “A Plus Auto Care LLC,” from locations on Philmont Avenue in Huntingdon Valley and on Torresdale Avenue in Philadelphia, the DA said.

Payments for fake inspections came to Farhat via Zelle or cash, and ranged from $150 to $250 per vehicle, accord got police. He made hundreds of transactions for inspections, ultimately totaling $76,185, the DA said.

In addition, there were hundreds of additional transactions that had no notation but were sent by a trucking company or a trucking company official, the DA said. These transactions totaled $207,892. More than 150 trucking companies had paid for services from Farhat, the DA alleged.

Farhat was arrested on Aug. 4 and released on $99,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 15.