Five members of a Queens-based auto-theft ring have been arrested for selling high-priced stolen cars to undercover cops, it was announced yesterday.
Members of the ring, who shipped some of the stolen vehicles out of the country, used a variety of schemes to steal $500,000 worth of fancy cars during the past several years, sources said.
The case began as a stolen car case about 18 months ago and led to members of the NYPD Auto Crime Unit infiltrating the operation, and buying several hot cars destined for shipment abroad, said a spokesman for state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, whose office is prosecuting the case.
Among the vehicles stolen were a 2003 Hummer H-2 and a 2003 Mercedes-Benz S500, each valued at approximately $100,000, sources said.
The alleged mastermind, Mihail Dutescu, 57, of Astoria, told buyers he could deliver a steady flow of vehicles to be shipped out of the country, authorities said.
Sources said ring members also sought “give ups,” people behind on their car payments who would have their cars taken before filing fraudulent theft claims.
Ring members also fraudulently obtained cars on credit by using the ID of people who had left the country. Also arrested were: Flora Sakellis, 46, and Hariclia Rahimi, 31, of Astoria; Aston Lawson, 37, of Roosevelt Island; and Demetrius Koronis, 44, of Jackson Heights.