CLEVELAND — A Cuyahoga County grand jury has returned a total of five indictments charging 39 people in connection with a nationwide scheme to sell stolen cars using phony titles from other states.
County Prosecutor Michael C. O'Malley announced the charges Thursday, which include a total of 190 criminal counts for the accused suspects. Those charges range from records tampering and receiving stolen property to forgery and illegal actions involving motor vehicle title certificates and VIN numbers.
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According to officials, 34 vehicles were stolen from the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, New York, and California between January of 2021 and March of 2023. The suspects are then alleged to have put new VIN numbers on the cars to match their description and then take stolen or fake titles from Georgia or South Carolina to BMVs across Ohio, thereby allowing them to obtain titles in the Buckeye State.
Once the VIN numbers and new titles matched, the cars would be put up for sale at well below their original sticker price, but still at a profit to their own operation. Of those indicted, 33 are accused of being involved in the title fraud, while the remaining six are purported to have received the stolen property.
Besides the Ohio BMV and State Highway Patrol, police departments or sheriff's offices across Ashland, Cuyahoga, Lake, Summit, and Trumbull counties were also involved in the investigation. They received assistance from other large police forces in cities including New York and Detroit.
The 39 indicted individuals are expected to later be arraigned in Cuyahoga County Municipal Court. Their names and ages are as follows:
- Charles Brown, 62
- Kim Rogers, 55
- Andre Hargrove, 27
- Xavier Feliciano, 32
- Mercedes Rogers-Barhams, 34
- Monique Crews, 39
- Kasan Britton, 19
- Gary Cabral, 47
- Dontezia Morgan, 21
- Briana Hunt, 29
- Angel Mauricio, 23
- Ashleigh Ford, 32
- Dylan Bickley, 25
- Anthony Law, 63
- Christepher Horton, 18
- Darmani Hawkins, 18
- Enrique Dudenas, 20
- Sirviaughn Summers, 22
- Johnathan Jones, 31
- Ja’mel Johnson, 33
- Javontae Holbert, 21
- Terry Burton, 24
- Mohammed Rabah, 31
- Adrian Hardges, 24
- Ali Awada, 27
- Shawn Rall, 32
- Christopher Dowdley, 42
- Andrea Brueggeman, 37
- Frank Daddario, 26
- Henry Harold, 25
- Javonta Jones, 23
- Rachelle Martin, 37
- Denzel Martin, 27
- Daija Gardner, 26
- Lyonel Pruitt, 23
- Dustin Morgan, 19
- Anthony Roman, 26
- Jordan Early, 30
- Terricko Early II, 25
