Ten Defendants Charged In Interstate Auto Theft Conspiracy

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that an indictment was returned by a federal grand jury charging ten individuals from several states with an auto theft conspiracy and multiple counts of transporting stolen motor vehicles interstate.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictment charges that from in or about October 2023 through in or about September 2024, ten defendants-hailing from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland-conspired with each other and others to transport stolen motor vehicles interstate and to receive, possess, conceal, store, sell, and dispose of stolen motor vehicles that had been transported interstate.

The alleged coconspirators include:

• Nigel Criss, age 25, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
• Ian Quintana Torres, age 23, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
• Shamar Morris, age 22, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
• Jumaane Wright, age 28, of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania;
• Raymond Steward, age 24, of Camden County, New Jersey;
• Rafael Otero Nieves, age 40, of Baltimore County, Maryland;
• Jose Otero Nieves, age 41, of Baltimore County, Maryland;
• Jesus Terrero, age 32, of Baltimore County, Maryland;
• Tyler Hoagland, age 27, of Howard County, Maryland; and
• Robert Jones, age 25, of Prince George's County, Maryland.

The indictment alleges that the coconspirators traveled to car dealerships with key programmers to steal several vehicles at a time.

It is further alleged that an object of the conspiracy was to take the stolen vehicles-typically high-end, "muscle" type cars-across state lines to "car meetups" and "street takeovers," at which individuals would take over a parking lot, intersection, road, or portion of a highway. According to the indictment, the vehicles were shown off in person at the meetups and on social media and driven in a reckless and dangerous manner, such as spinning and "burning out" the vehicles.

Several vehicles across multiple states are alleged to have been stolen by the coconspirators. For example, it is alleged that on or about October 3, 2023, seven of the ten coconspirators traveled to a car dealership in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, to steal two 2017 Cadillac CTS-V's, a 2016 Cadillac CTS-V, two 2019 Cadillac CTS-V's, a 2018 Chevrolet Camaro, a 2019 Chevrolet Camaro, and a 2019 Chevrolet Corvette.

The charges stem from an investigation conducted by Pennsylvania State Police's Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Central and Eastern Auto Theft Task Forces, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Moreno is prosecuting the case.

The maximum penalty under federal law for the crimes charged in the indictment is five years of imprisonment for the conspiracy charge and ten years for each count of interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle, in addition to a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

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