A Kissimmee man is one of 27 people accused of “illegal activities” involving the theft and resale of luxury vehicles, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
The FDLE said that 26-year-old Jose Luis Hernandez-Mercado from Kissimmee is wanted in connection with the crime ring that was dubbed “Operation Gone in 60 Days “ and faces charges of grand theft of a motor vehicle, dealing in stolen property, and possession of a motor vehicle with an altered VIN.
According to a news release, the crime ring centered around profiting from the theft and sale of luxury vehicles. The members are accused of illegally acquiring the vehicles by using couriers, fake names and fraudulent payments to “purchase” the vehicles from dealerships who wouldn’t discover the fraud until after the vehicles were gone from the lot.
So far, 23 people have been arrested and dozens of high-end vehicles recovered in the five-year RICO investigation, officials said.
The FDLE said another “scheme” saw the suspects keeping rental vehicles and filing false police reports claiming the vehicles had been stolen.
“The members of this criminal organization orchestrated a multi-stage scheme to defraud potential car customers at every step of the way, selling stolen vehicles with fraudulent VINs, illegally sourced license plates, and dummy insurance policies,” said FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass. “. This complex criminal enterprise victimized citizens and businesses across the state, but the suspects’ days of profiting off the misery of hard-working Floridians is at an end.”
According to the release, the investigation began in 2018 and the results were announced at a news conference with Attorney General Ashley Moody, officials from the FDLE, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, the FHP and the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
You can watch the press conference below:
“Operation Gone in 60 Days and the arrests of the individuals involved represent years of interagency work and steadfast determination. In this case, the suspects took advantage of those around them for personal benefit and with zero regards to the consequences of their actions or how they would affect their victims. Today is another example of Florida’s refusal to allow criminal organizations or activities to prey on its citizens and reminds everyone that Florida is a law-and-order state,” said FHP Colonel Gary Howze II.
Officials said in addition to the 23 suspects already arrested and the two more with active arrest warrants, agents have filed two additional arrest affidavits with the court, for a total of 27 suspects.
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