Bergen County Man Charged in Car Theft and Fraudulent Resale Scheme

NEWARK, N.J. – A former Bergen County, New Jersey, man has been charged with running a large, multistate car theft and fraud ring, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Warren Guerrier, 46, formerly of Hackensack, New Jersey, is charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, five counts of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. He was arraigned today before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court and pleaded not guilty.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From November 2016 to June 2020, Guerrier and several conspirators acting at his direction orchestrated a scheme to steal and then fraudulently sell vehicles to unsuspecting buyers. They identified vehicles to steal, then photographed, tracked, and advertised them for sale on the Internet. At the sales, the buyer victims were provided with electronically programmed keys and falsified certificates of title for the stolen vehicles in exchange for a negotiated purchase price in cash. Buyer victims also were provided with fraudulent identity documents utilized by conspirators to obscure their true identities.    

The scheme involved the theft of at least 40 stolen vehicles, approximately 30 of which were sold by Guerrier and his conspirators to buyer victims, and as a result of which Guerrier and his conspirators collected approximately $285,000.

The conspiracy to commit wire fraud count and each count of wire fraud is punishable by a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. The aggravated identity theft count is punishable by a sentence of two years in prison, which must be served consecutively to any other term imposed, and a maximum $250,000 fine.  

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited the FBI Newark Violent Incident Crimes Task Force, Garrett Mountain Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark and Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams in New Orleans, with the investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica R. Ecker of the General Crimes Unit and Kendall Randolph of the Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.