How 9 Men Stole 45 Cars Over 6 Months During COVID, Then Got Caught

New York Attorney General Letitia James has announced the guilty pleas and sentencing of nine members of a Bronx car theft ring for their roles in the theft of 45 vehicles during a six-month period from April to October 2020.

Carried out during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the operation targeted cars in New York City and Westchester County that were parked on the street for days at a time.

“These individuals took advantage of New Yorkers who stayed at home in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to steal some of their most valuable assets,” said Attorney General James.

Crew members were able reprogram vehicles’ computers to disable alarms and quickly gain access to the cars, which they then resold across the United States and the Dominican Republic.

This prosecution was a result of a two-year joint investigation by the Attorney General’s (OAG) Organized Crime Task Force and the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) Auto Crime Division. The investigation began in ­­­­September 2019 and included physical and covert surveillance, court-authorized wiretapping of targeted phones, execution of search warrants, and the recovery of surveillance video capturing the thefts of numerous vehicles, according to the OAG.

The investigation was dubbed “Operation Master Key” for the theft crew’s ability to create keys to gain access to different vehicles.

After stealing the vehicles, members of the organization transported the vehicles back to one of several lots located in the Bronx where the vehicles were altered and the vehicle identification numbers (VINs) were changed to give the stolen cars a new identity. Crew members installed fake VIN plates on the floors of the cars that covered the true VIN plates. Prosecutors said they also forged federal certification stickers on the cars and removed the legitimate registration stickers.

Nine defendants have since pled guilty and were sentenced in Bronx Supreme Court on March 8 by Judge Guy Mitchell.

Law enforcement has had some recent successes against auto theft. In December 2023, two individuals were charged with crimes related to theft and possession of vehicles in the Bronx. In August 2023, six members of a crew responsible for over 200 burglaries of businesses in the Lower Hudson Valley, New York City, and on Long Island, including car dealerships. were convicted. In October 2022, law enforcement took down a luxury vehicle theft ring in New York City.