Fraud/theft ring operated in central Pa., using stolen vehicles from Florida
HARRISBURG — Attorney General Dave Sunday, in conjunction with the 52nd Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, announced charges against 13 members of a central Pennsylvania-based, vehicle title-washing criminal enterprise that sold vehicles stolen from Florida, profiting over $1 million in the scheme.
The criminal enterprise, led by 44-year-old Anthony E. Troncoso, sold more than two dozen stolen vehicles. After washing the titles by fabricating documents regarding ownership, registration, and insurance, the group sold the vehicles to private buyers and at auction and dealerships.
Troncoso is charged with nine felonies and six misdemeanors, including felony corrupt organizations, washing vehicle titles, and theft by deception.
Other members of the group — including Troncoso’s relatives and his girlfriend — are each charged with their respective roles in the scheme. In recent days, law enforcement officials made arrests and arranged for defendants to turn themselves in for arraignment. Not all defendants are in custody.
“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.”
Assisting in the investigation were Pennsylvania State Police, Berks and Lehigh County Detectives, New York City Police Department, City of Miami Detectives, and Miami-Dade Auto Theft Unit.
The title-washing — “cleaning” a vehicle’s paper trail of attached liens or loans by registering the vehicle in another state with fraudulent documentation — happened at licensed tag agencies and notaries in Berks, Dauphin, and Lehigh counties, as well as at PennDOT headquarters in Dauphin County.
Among the vehicle brands sold were Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Land Rover, Audi, Lexus, and Infiniti. Most of the sales happened between 2022 and 2023.
Charged in addition to Anthony Troncoso are:
- Brandon Troncoso (Anthony’s son), 5 charges, in custody
- Aida Flores (Brandon’s mother), 13 charges, to surrender Thursday
- Christina DeMase (Anthony’s girlfriend), 1 charge, awaiting extradition from California
- Jean Garcia Rodriguez,17 charges, to surrender Thursday
- Samantha Rosario, 10 charges, not in custody
- Heicha Vega-Baez, 18 charges, not in custody
- Michael Ramirez, 15 charges, awaiting extradition from Florida
- Fabiola Lucena, 1 charge, in custody
- Pablo Correa, 17 charges, not in custody
- Jose Ariza, 17 charges, not in custody
- Jeffrey Candelo, 10 charges, not in custody
- Dario Jiminez Lopez, 3 charges, not in custody
Many of the defendants have roots or reside outside of Pennsylvania — in Florida, other states, and, some, in Mexico.
Several residents of Florida are charged with providing fraudulent documents to obtain Pennsylvania ID cards, which were used for the subsequent titling.
The cases will be prosecuted by the Office of Attorney General’s Insurance Fraud Section. Criminal charges, and any discussion thereof, are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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