A former Canfield car dealer serving thirteen years in prison for shady business dealings is being released five years before his sentence was to expire.

Mahoning County Judge Maureen Sweeney has granted Joseph Reinthaler Jr.’s request for judicial release and placed him on probation for the next two years.

Reinthaler Jr., now 58 years old, pleaded guilty in 2016 to one count of forgery, one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, and 69 counts of tampering with records.

Reinthaler was indicted following an investigation conducted by the Ohio State Highway Patrol Vehicle Theft Unit and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

The investigation began after the BMV and Canfield Police Department received several complaints about Reinthaler from community members.

Reinthaler, who operated the Auto Village dealership on Route 224 in Canfield, promised customers that he would pay off liens on their vehicles, according to investigators.

The Highway Patrol says Reinthaler would instead forge lien releases to obtain fraudulent Ohio Certificate of Titles.

Hundreds of cars were resold in the process. Investigators tracked fraudulent lien documents as far back as 2012.

The Ohio Attorney General sued Reinthaler for $150,000 in civil penalties and $168,000 to reimburse thirty-three customers who bought vehicles but never received their titles.