How A Single License Plate Took Down A Massive Criminal Network Stealing Luxury Cars

The bust was huge as it included stolen cars, clothes, jewelry, laundered money, real estate, and drugs

Police in Wisconsin just busted a criminal organization with ties to high-end vehicle theft, firearms, money laundering via real estate, and narcotics. In the end, they arrested 23 individuals, seized a number of vehicles, and took down what they call a sophisticated interstate car theft ring. And it all started in 2022 thanks to a lost license plate.

Officers found said license plate sitting on its own on a Kenosha County highway three years ago. They tied it to a stolen vehicle out of Milwaukee and began investigating. They soon realized that the plate was connected to several thefts in the same area. Authorities executed search warrants in Milwaukee and Illinois.

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As a result, they identified several people they say led this theft ring. The suspects would target high-end cars, like the recovered Corvette displayed here, and then steal them from residences or from the Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee. They allegedly used professional-grade scanning and cloning tools.

Once the cars were secured, they would swap the VIN plates and resell the car for cash at prices well below market value. Officers say cars ended up all over the U.S., including Florida, Las Vegas, and Georgia. The next step required funneling the cash into LLCs that would buy real estate. When that property was sold, the money was clean.

As part of the investigation, authorities found a drug center involved in delivering ‘large amounts’ of heroin and methamphetamine. It also recovered credit card cloning devices, fake vehicle titles, fake VIN plates, stolen clothing, stolen jewelry, four cars, and one stolen firearm, along with cash.

“The fact that a recovered license plate in Kenosha County ultimately led to the federal indictments of 23 individuals is truly impressive. I am proud of the fact that our detectives identified key members, executed search warrants, and gathered crucial evidence of this crime ring,” said Sheriff David Zoerner. No doubt, this was some pretty solid police work, but far from the only crackdown we’ve seen recently.

This year alone, we’ve reported on several similar cases. In February, authorities busted a crime ring responsible for re-routing high-end car deliveries. In April, police found millions worth of stolen BMWs and Rolls-Royces in Brox parking garages. And last month, officers took down a group using stolen cars on Turo.

Credit: KCSO