LoJack System in 2024 Mustang Assists in Recovery and Suspect Arrest in Multi-Vehicle Case

A Los Angeles Ford dealership discovered that a 2024 Ford Mustang, sold to a customer for over $50,000, was purchased using a fraudulent cashier’s check. The crime was reported to the Los Angeles Police Department, and the vehicle was listed as stolen in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. The dealership manager also reported the stolen vehicle to LoJack’s 24-hour stolen vehicle hotline. The stolen Mustang was then added to LoJack LE, enabling law enforcement officers to track its location in real-time. 

Detectives from the Taskforce for Regional AutoTheft Prevention (TRAP) in Los Angeles were investigating a suspect for using fraudulent cashier’s checks to purchase newer high-end vehicles from dealerships in Los Angeles, CA, Anaheim, CA, and Bellevue, WA. On Friday, June 7, a detective checked the LoJack LE app for an unrelated case and noticed a stolen 2024 Mustang near Union Station, a passenger rail terminal in downtown Los Angeles. Upon running the vehicle information, he discovered that the named suspect was the same individual involved in the fraudulent cashier's check case under investigation involving a total of seven stolen vehicles. 

TRAP detectives set up surveillance on the vehicle, but nobody returned to the Mustang, so they recovered it. During an inventory search, detectives found boarding passes in the suspect’s name, indicating he was flying to Colombia. They determined he would be returning from Colombia on Wednesday, June 12. TRAP detectives responded to LAX to await the suspect’s arrival. The suspect was taken into custody after completing his customs inspection and admitted to using fraudulent checks to obtain the vehicles. He was subsequently arrested with charges pending for multiple felony crimes. 

During the investigation, all seven vehicles, including a Bentley and a Land Rover, were recovered, with a combined value of over $500,000. 

Sunrise Ford- North Hollywood preinstalls LoJack as part of a comprehensive security strategy that safeguards dealership assets.