New Jersey law enforcement officials have brought charges against 63 people for their roles in a car theft trafficking enterprise that allegedly shipped scores of stolen, high-end vehicles to buyers in West Africa.
Officials said their investigation found that the organization was responsible for more than 90 stolen vehicles with a combined value of more than $8 million. According to officials, the group operated between June 2025 to June 2026 in New Jersey and New York, where it stole and transported luxury vehicles – including Range Rovers, Porsches, and BMWs – for sale to buyers, including to buyers in Ghana and Nigeria.
Theft crews allegedly moved the stolen vehicles to two main “fences” – Fatim Wingate and Brian J. Peppers, both of Newark, New Jersey. Wingate and Peppers allegedly oversaw the enterprise, along with another fence, Adamu Alhassan of Newark, and Standford Oduro, also of Newark, who allegedly ran a shipping yard in Irvington, New Jersey, and was present for many of the sales of stolen vehicles. The vehicles were then sold to buyers, who would ship the vehicles to their destination, often overseas.
Police said multiple stolen vehicles recovered from shipping containers at the ports of New Jersey and New York came from the Irvington shipping yard.
According to the investigation, the buyers also allegedly acted as financiers.
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor, and the New Jersey State Police announced the . All the defendants have been charged with first-degree racketeering for their participation in the conspiracy, which involved targeting specific vehicles, stealing them – often committing home burglaries to obtain the key fobs for the vehicles – and brokering the stolen cars to buyers who intended to sell them overseas.
The defendants also face charges of participation in an auto theft trafficking network, motor vehicle theft, receiving stolen property, and residential burglary.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
“These auto-theft enterprises do more than simply steal cars,” said Bernard J. Cooney, the state’s insurance fraud prosecutor. “They endanger public safety, lead to violence, and fuel fear in our communities. Such crimes also impose significant costs throughout the insurance system that can ultimately affect the affordability of auto insurance for law-abiding New Jersey drivers.”
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Bureau Chief Evgeniya Sitnikova of the insurance fraud prosecutor’s office.
Topics Auto Fraud New Jersey
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Clash of Florida Titans Pits Powerful Tribe Against Homebuilder Lennar 
Hellman & Friedman’s Hub International Seeks $3 Billion in IPO 
Allianz Unit to Cut as Many as 1,800 Jobs in Push to Adopt AI 
Agent-Carrier Relationships Improving, Survey Shows 
