PROVIDENCE – Four Rhode Island youths have been named in an indictment for allegedly stealing about 120 luxury cars worth about $5 million from 12 dealerships in other states last year.
Four co-conspirators, including two Providence men, a Cranston man and a North Providence man, targeted car and motorcycle dealerships across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha in a news release.
Federal prosecutors said the men made off with Porsches, Mercedes, BMWs, Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Land Rovers and other vehicles during the conspiracy, which the FBI investigated with assistance from numerous local law enforcement agencies.
Law enforcement said they recovered 41 stolen cars and 11 dirt bikes, with most of the vehicles secured in Rhode Island or Massachusetts.
$96,000 Jeep
Prosecutors said surveillance video obtained by Providence police shows two men, believed to be two of the co-conspirators, placing a cover over a vehicle valued at $96,000.
Prosecutors say the scene, which involved a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, occurred last year on a driveway in Providence.
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The Jeep and three other vehicles were taken from a Hempstead, New Hampshire, dealership two days ago, police said.
Another SUV stolen by the group, a Range Rover, was found inside a shipping container in Elizabeth, New Jersey, prosecutors said. The container was bound for Africa.
Motorcycle stolen from North Providence garage
In a separate incident, co-conspirators stole 19 luxury Husqvarna motorcycles from a dealership in Phillipston, Massachusetts, prosecutors said. The motorcycle was found in the garage of a co-conspirator who lives in North Providence, according to the release.
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Prosecutors say the 28-year-old defendant also brokered stolen cars to a network of contacts, including people living in Rhode Island.
Seven law enforcement agencies in Rhode Island provided significant assistance to the FBI, according to the release.
Prosecutors said criminal investigators from six Massachusetts law enforcement agencies, as well as the Internal Revenue Service and the National Insurance Crime Bureau, assisted in the investigation.
