3 Charlotte men led multi-state Porsche, Rolls-Royce theft rings, feds say
Two Charlotte men pleaded guilty on Thursday to helping lead multi-state theft rings involving millions of dollars in stolen Porsche, Rolls-Royce and other high-end vehicles, U.S. Attorney Dena King said.
Andre Lamar Sumner, 41, acted as a “fence,” or go-between, in the buying and selling of cars stolen from dealerships, rental companies and people in the Carolinas, Florida, Alabama, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Missouri, according to court documents.
BMWs, Land Rovers and Mercedes-Benz cars also were stolen, along with trucks and other expensive Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and RAM models, court records show.
The vehicles had a total estimated value of “well over $2 million,” King said in a news release.
Sumner sold the cars at prices way below their fair market values, she said.
To avoid detection, Sumner admitted in court Thursday, he changed the original VINs of the cars and registered them with various state motor vehicle agencies.
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate federal law, including by transporting and possessing stolen vehicles in interstate commerce, and altering vehicle identification numbers. He also pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen vehicle.
Sumner’s co-conspirator, 40-year-old Charlotte resident Erren Woodson, pleaded guilty on Oct. 18 to conspiracy and possession of a stolen vehicle.
Woodson bought stolen cars from Sumner, court records show.
Sumner and Woodson also pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute marijuana. According to court records, proceeds from their theft ring, which began in 2022, partly funded their marijuana trafficking.
In a separate high-end stolen vehicle case, 39-year-old Charlotte resident Terrick Lumpkin pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to violate federal law, including by transporting and possessing vehicles in interstate commerce and altering VIN numbers. He also pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen vehicle.
From November 2023 to January, Lumpkin conspired with others to steal vehicles worth over $1 million, prosecutors said. They stole vehicles from Charlotte Douglas International Airport, elsewhere in the state and Illinois, and New York, court records show.
Lumpkin also admitted to altering or removing VINs from the vehicles, according to court documents.
Lumpkin, Sumner and Woodson are out of jail on bond pending respective sentencing, which will be scheduled, King said.
Sumner and Woodson face up to 20 years in prison and Lumpkin a maximum 15 years.
CMPD SCARLET task force nets arrests
Since August 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s office has charged 11 people with conspiracy and other offenses involving high-end stolen vehicles. Nine of the 11 have pleaded guilty to federal charges, King said.
In announcing Thursday’s guilty pleas, King thanked the FBI and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Stolen Car And Recovery Law Enforcement Team, called SCARLET, for investigating the cases.
Robert DeWitt, special agent in charge of the FBI in North Carolina, and CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings joined King as she announced the pleas.
CMPD formed the SCARLET task force in April 2023, after a rise in luxury vehicle thefts from dealerships and homes, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
By July of this year, SCARLET made 68 arrests and seized 66 vehicles, 47 firearms and more than 184 pounds of narcotics, the Observer reported. The team also seized more than $200,000 in cash.