FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 25, 2017
Queens Man Indicted for Stealing a $240,000
Luxury Car Using Stolen Identity
Allegedly Used Forged Driver’s License and Stolen Personal Information to
Purchase Acura Supercar from Brooklyn Dealership
Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a 45-year-old Queens man has been charged in a 17-count indictment with stealing a $240,000 Acura NSX by allegedly using another man’s stolen personal information to purchase the luxury vehicle at a car dealership in Midwood, Brooklyn.
Acting District Attorney Gonzalez said, “Using a stolen identity, this defendant allegedly bought a luxury vehicle worth nearly a quarter of a million dollars leaving an unknowing victim with an astronomical bill. After a thorough investigation that utilized cutting-edge technology he has now been caught and will face prosecution for his brazen scheme.”
The Acting District Attorney identified the defendant as Brian White, 45, of Flushing, Queens. He was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on an indictment in which he is charged with second-, third- and fourth-degree grand larceny, second- and third-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, first-, second- and third-degree identity theft and related counts. Bail was set at $300,000 bond or $150,000 cash and he was ordered to return to court on November 1, 2017. The defendant faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the top count.
The Acting District Attorney said that, according to the indictment, on March 22, 2017, the defendant walked into Plaza Auto Mall in Midwood, Brooklyn with a forged driver’s license of the victim. He also allegedly possessed the victim’s Social Security number, insurance documents and credit information. Using all of that, the defendant filled out a finance application and bought a 2017 Acura NSX for a purchase price of $240,000. He then left the dealership with the vehicle.
A few weeks later, the victim received paperwork in the mail regarding his purported purchase, realized he was defrauded and contacted the dealership, which then notified the Brooklyn DA’s Office.
The defendant was identified by running a photo of him captured at the dealership through facial recognition software. The defendant and the vehicle were also identified through other means, including phone records, license plate readers and intelligence from other agencies, according to the investigation. The defendant was apprehended and charged in a criminal complaint on August 15, 2017.
The Acting District Attorney thanked the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the United States Pretrial Services Agency and the NYPD’s DA Squad for their assistance with this investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Michael Boykin, of the District Attorney’s Trial Bureau Green Zone, who was assisted by Assistant District Attorney Gavin Miles, of the District Attorney’s Frauds Bureau, as well as Paralegal Angelika Rostkowska and Deputy Bureau Chiefs Glenn Singer and Richard Boyé of the Green Zone, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney David Klestzick, Bureau Chief.
#
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.