NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A Bridgeport man pleaded guilty in New Haven federal court on Friday to charges relating to a series of vehicle thefts from dealerships in multiple states, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
The thefts were accomplished by using personal information taken from identity theft victims.
Tad Carr, 22, was arrested on Dec. 7, 2023, for participating in the scheme and is released on a $75,000 bond pending sentencing.
Court documents and statements made in court note that, starting around September 2020, Carr’s alleged co-conspirator used personal information stolen from residents of Connecticut and other states to apply for vehicle loans at dealerships in Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Rhode Island.
Prosecutors say that motorcycles, an all-terrain vehicle and other performance vehicles were applied for and granted. Each loan application would use an identity theft victim’s information.
When approved by a dealership, Carr’s co-conspirator would send a series of runners, including Carr, to pick up the vehicle by using a fabricated driver’s license featuring the identity theft victim’s information and a photograph of the runner. During the scheme, the vehicles would be taken back to Connecticut and resold on Facebook Marketplace, the release says.
On Friday, Carr pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, which could send him to jail for up to 30 years. He also pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory prison sentence of two years, prosecutors say.
Carr will be sentenced by a U.S. District Judge on Nov. 8.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Information’s New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force, the Bridgeport Police Department, the Hopkinton (R.I.) Police Department, the Westtown – East Goshen Regional (Pa.) Police Department and the Washington Township (N.J.) Police Department.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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