4 days ago
Pa. Attorney General's Office charges 13 people in luxury vehicle scheme
The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office announced that 13 people have been charged in a luxury vehicle title-washing scheme that was operating out of central Pennsylvania.
According to AG Dave Sunday's office, the scheme was led by 44-year-old Anthony Troncoso and sold more than two dozen luxury vehicles that had been stolen from Florida.
They would take the titles from the stolen vehicles, fabricate new documents that changed ownership, registration, and insurance information, and sell the vehicles to private buyers as well as to auctions and dealerships.
Troncoso is facing nine felonies and six misdemeanors, including felony corrupt organizations, washing vehicle titles, and theft by deception.
"This sophisticated criminal organization washed clean high-end vehicles that were stolen in Florida, then sold to unsuspecting buyers," Attorney General Sunday said. "Without the collaboration of numerous law enforcement partners, and the diligence of the grand jurors, this elaborate scheme would not have been unraveled."
Title "washing" or "cleaning" involves changing a vehicle's paper trail of attached liens, loans, and registration from another state with fraudulent documentation.
According to the AG's office, the incident took place at licensed tag agencies in multiple counties, including Berk, Dauphin, and Lehigh counties.
The types of vehicles sold were Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Land Rover, Audi, Lexus, and Infiniti. The sales happened between 2022 and 2023.
Other defendants involved in the scheme have roots or reside outside of Pennsylvania, including states such as Florida and California, and even as far as Mexico.
Several of the suspects who live in Florida are charged with providing fraudulent documents to obtain Pennsylvania ID cards, which were used in filing papers for the vehicles.
