A New Jersey man has been sentenced to 57 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to receive, retitle, and “re-VIN” stolen vehicles.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna, Nathaniel Bell of Linden pleaded guilty in federal district court to one count of conspiracy to receive stolen vehicles, five counts of altering or removing motor vehicle identification numbers (VINs) and one count of transportation of stolen vehicles.
According to documents filed in court: Bell headed a criminal conspiracy that obtained stolen vehicles from New Jersey, New York, Florida, and other states, obtained fraudulent titles for the stolen vehicles, and altered vehicle identification numbers to conceal the fact that the vehicles were stolen. Bell and his co-conspirators then sold the stolen cars to dealerships or individual purchasers so they could make a profit, prosecutors said.
In addition to the prison term, Bell was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution.
Bell’s co-conspirators, Johnathan Tanksley of Orange, L’Hubermane Felix of Miami, Florida, and Dayanna Sarango-Hidalgo of Newark, have all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to receive stolen vehicles. Felix was previously sentenced to 24 months in prison. Tanksley and Sarango-Hidalgo await sentencing.
Source: US Attorneys Office
Topics Fraud New Jersey
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.