Akron Man Charged with Operation of a Chop Shop

Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today that a federal grand jury in Cleveland, Ohio, returned an indictment charging Daniel C. Ott, Sr., age 71, of Akron, Ohio, with one count of interstate transportation of stolen property and one count of operating and aiding and abetting the operation of an automobile chop shop.

The indictment charges that between April 3, 2009, and May 7, 2010, in the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, and elsewhere, Ott knowingly operated and aided and abetted the operation of a chop shop operation.

Daniel C. Ott, Sr., was arrested on June 15, 2010, following the filing of a criminal complaint in United States District Court in Youngstown, Ohio. According to Court documents, Ott was alleged to have been responsible for, or involved with, the theft of at least 14 Chevrolet Corvettes in Ohio and Pennsylvania between April 2009 and May 2010, which vehicles were turned over by Ott to individuals running illegal chop shops in Northern Ohio, and the parts for which were resold and distributed in interstate commerce.

The Indictment further charges that on or about November 29, 2009, Ott transported from Medina County, Ohio, to Pennsylvania, an Ingersol Rand compressor valued at $5,000 or more, knowing that it had been stolen.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew B. Kall and Robert W. Kern of the Cleveland U.S. Attorney’s Office, following an investigation by the Youngstown Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.