7 N.J. men stole over a dozen luxury cars in massive theft ring, feds say

Seven New Jersey men have been charged with stealing over a dozen luxury cars in both the Garden State and in New York, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.

A Virginia man was involved in the car theft ring, but he had not yet been captured, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office District of New Jersey.

The investigation began in November 2021, when police began probing a series of high-end car thefts and learned that the eight men, and others conspired to possess, receive, conceal, sell, dispose, and/or transport the stolen vehicles cars in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and elsewhere, the office said.

The 14 cars were stolen from all over the state, including a 2021 Auid Q5 from Jersey City in November 2021, a 2020 Range Rover stolen from Tenafly in April 2022, and a 2021 BMW M3 stolen from Spring Lake three months later, according to a criminal complaint. They have an estimated total value of at least $550,000.

Some of the stolen cars were used during the commission of other crimes, including the theft of additional cars, shootings, and a homicide, officials claimed. No other specifics on this aspect of the case were given Thursday.

From November 2021 to July 2022, one of the men charged, Ahmad Franks, 24, of Newark, exchanged photographs of at least 400 known or suspected stolen cars with at least a dozen conspirators, authorities said.

In addition to Franks, the other men charged were fellow Newark residents Saquan White, 23, Nathan Braswell, 20, Idn Bellamy, 24, and 20-year-old Zamir Wright, the office said. Ryan Bowen, 26 and Khyree Lawrence, 20, both of East Orange, were also facing charges related to the car thefts.

The seven men were all charged with conspiring to receive, possess, or sell stolen vehicles in interstate commerce, federal prosecutors said.

Franks was also charged with five counts of possession of a stolen vehicle and one count of interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle. Bellamy is also charged with one count of possession of a stolen vehicle, and Buhari is charged with one count of sale, receipt, or possession of a stolen vehicle, officials said.

The 45-year-old Woodbridge, Virginia, man, Mohammed Buhari, was charged with conspiring to receive, possess, or sell stolen vehicles in interstate commerce, as well as one count of sale, receipt, or possession of a stolen vehicle, the office said.

Bellamy and Lawrence were arrested on Wednesday and made their initial appearances in Newark federal court, while Buhari remains at large, investigators said.

The remaining men were already in custody on prior charges and will have their court appearances at a later date, according to federal authorities.

"The defendants are charged with orchestrating a brazen conspiracy to steal high-end, luxury vehicles, targeting our community and profiting from their illegal activities," U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said in a statement.

"These charges underscore our commitment to work with all of our law enforcement partners to protect the community from the variety of crimes committed by those who seek to enrich themselves unjustly by victimizing our residents."

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