Auto Theft Ring Destroyed in the US

A huge coordinated effort made by the US Secret Service and the Indiana State Police, assisted by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, US Postal Inspection Service and 12 other local police departments, including the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, ended with the capturing of five people in relation to an auto theft ring that allegedly stole more than 80 vehicles valued in excess of $1 million.

The five, Tommy Thompson, Jr., Christopher Wells, Francis W. Coleman, Carl McCreary, and Fred D. Bear, Jr. were indicted on Thursday following their arrest in December 2009.

According to the indictment, Coleman, Wells, Thompson and others would steal motor vehicles from both within and outside of the Southern District of Indiana, then locate vehicles of an identical make and model in Canada and copy those vehicles' VIN numbers.

Coleman would create counterfeit Washington or North Carolina motor vehicle titles and VIN stickers bearing the Canadian vehicles' information and then ship them to Indianapolis, where Wells, Thompson and others would clone the vehicles. In the end, Bear or McCreary would receive the vehicles for sale. The counterfeit documents were shipped via the USPS or Federal Express

According to the initial findings, Christopher Wells and Francis Coleman entered the group in June 2006, Thompson and McCreary in April 2007 and Bear from March 2008 through September 2009

US Attorney Bradley Shepard says all five are charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and each faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.