Busted! Three Men Arrested In South Florida High-End Car Theft Ring

We recently reported on a missing Rolls-Royce Dawn suspected of being fraudulently rerouted on its delivery from Miami to the buyer in Detroit. This appears to be a recent common tactic for car theft, where the thieves reroute the delivery and then act as the buyer to receive the car. But a theft ring dealing in high-end cars has come tumbling down. According to 7 News Miami, 41-year-old Yuriy Korotovskyy, 53-year-old Arman Gevorgyan, and 43-year-old Hrant Nazarian were taken into custody on charges of grand theft, dealing in stolen property, and conspiracy to commit organized fraud. Several luxury vehicles were recovered. The catalyst was, apparently, Nader Eldamouni reporting his missing Rolls-Royce and kicking up a stink with the media.

Arrested In A Sting Operation

The trio was arrested in a sting operation using a coordinated, controlled delivery at a location in Aventura, Michigan. The thieves showed up in a Rolls-Royce Cullinan and an unspecified Bentley. Korotovskyy was witnessed paying $700 for the delivery of a Lamborghini Urus, which is now confirmed as stolen. Police arrested all three men then and there. However, the Rolls-Royce Dawn that sparked the investigations hasn’t been recovered yet.

How They Stole The Cars

According to the report, detectives say the car thieves targeted dispatchers and transporters, switching up the order destinations to where they’d be using “fraudulent shipping arrangements [involving] Armenian and Russian brokers rerouting these deliveries.”

“They present paperwork that seems legitimate, and they go away with the vehicle,” says Miami Beach Police spokesperson Christopher Bess, confirming that the thieves pose as buyers of the cars after intercepting delivery.

More Thieves Still On The Loose

According to police, they are looking for more people associated with the ring. We suspect that’s because it wouldn’t be easy for non-native English speakers with a poor grasp of the language (the trio required a translator when they appeared in court) to get into systems and change forms with the coherency to pass them off as legitimate. Of course, it doesn’t have to be computer hacking to do so, there could be social engineering involved or just the use of threats to make people cooperate. Either way, there are more people involved.

Related

Vehicles Thieves Absolutely Adore: The 10 Most Stolen Cars In The USA

Pickup trucks used to top this list, but things are looking wildly different this year.

Miami police have advised car owners worried about theft to “Either utilize a GPS tracking system, call the dealer, ask them to have a tracking mechanism inside the vehicle, and just do your very best to ensure that your assets are protected.” However, even this is no guarantee of protection, as professionals stealing cars to ship and sell abroad often already know the most likely places for trackers to be installed, and if they don’t find them, bug sweepers that look for electromagnetic signals will find them. That doesn’t mean owners shouldn’t use GPS trackers or the LoJack system. Just be aware it’s not a guarantee of getting a car back.

Source: 7 News Miami