Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro this week announced criminal charges against a dozen people accused of taking part in a major organized crime ring that fraudulently obtained more than 1,000 Pennsylvania license plates and used them to fuel a massive criminal enterprise involving automobiles in multiple states.
According to the AG’s office, by illegally renting the license plates in New York City and other locations, the crime ring profited significantly and allowed those who used the fraudulent plates to avoid paying more than $1 million in parking fines and EZ Pass tolls across several states.
The organized crime ring was headed by Rafael Levi, 50, of Brooklyn, N.Y., Shapiro said at a news conference. Charges were also filed against 14 Pennsylvania businesses involved in the crime ring. The charges followed an extensive investigation by the Attorney General’s Insurance Fraud Section and a statewide investigative grand jury.
http://liarcatchers.com/fraud_investigation.html
“This organized criminal ring used legitimate business tactics – applying for licenses and insurance, car loans and purchases – for completely illegitimate purposes,” Shapiro said. “From fraudulently obtained license plates to washed car titles to multiple other frauds, they gamed the system to rack up millions of dollars in illegal profits. It’s widespread criminal conduct, and today we brought a halt to it.”
According to a grand jury presentment made public this week, here are the major elements of the fraudulent schemes perpetrated by the Levi ring:
• License plates: By providing fraudulent documents to the departments of Transportation and State, Levi and his associates illegally obtained more than 1,000 Pennsylvania license plates and rented them out for $400 a month or more. People who got these plates avoided paying parking fines and E-ZPass tolls totaling $1 million in New York, Pennsylvania and neighborhood states.
• Fake insurance cards: The ring provided vehicles with fake insurance cards. When accidents occurred, motorists filed claims with insurance companies, but there was no legitimate policy to pay on.
• Washed car titles: The ring issued phony letters to PennDOT which enabled them to get clean titles on vehicles. The ring scammed $500,000 owed to financial institutions and $100,000 in state sales tax through this part of the scheme.
• Odometer rollbacks: The ring rolled back odometers on 35 cars, enabling them to sell cars for more money than they otherwise would’ve sold for.
• Driver’s licenses: The ring obtained Pennsylvania driver’s licenses at an address in Pennsylvania that the defendants never lived at.
Anyone with information about the individuals or businesses involved in this investigation is encouraged to call the Office of Attorney General’s Insurance Fraud Section at 717-787-0272.
