Eight people have been indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on charges alleging that they defrauded a national car rental company and stole at least 19 vehicles worth more than $1.1 million.
Those indicted are:
- Tyrell A. Oliver, 38 of Atlanta
- Steven B. Matthews, 39, of Atlanta.
- Shawnta B. Fonseca, 32, of New York
- Reginald M. Glenn, 35, of New York
- Rashad Holder, 33, of New York
- James E. McGhaney, 34, of New York
- Marlique J. McGhaney, 33, of New York
- Daquasia M. Robinson, 32, of New York.
Each of the indicted individuals was charged on July 19 with wire fraud conspiracy. Other charges include wire fraud or both aggravated identity theft and wire fraud. The indictment was unsealed Wednesday as arrests began.
The indictment accuses the conspirators of reserving rental cars using stolen credit card information and stolen identities and then picking up and never returning those vehicles. The indictment says Oliver and other co-conspirators obtained stolen credit card information and personally-identifying information belonging to multiple identity theft victims in the United States. Oliver then made car rental reservations using the stolen personal information and paid co-conspirators to pick up the vehicles, which were primarily SUVs, the indictment says. The conspirators flew to airports in the eastern United States and Midwest and used fake driver’s licenses and counterfeit credit cards to pick up the vehicles, the indictment says.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how criminals use people’s stolen identities,” said Special Agent in Charge Jay Greenberg of the FBI St. Louis Division. “Perpetrators can easily and cheaply buy an endless supply of personal and credit card information. While the company, in this case, was the direct victim, innocent people were initially accused of theft because their stolen identities were used to commit the fraud.”
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow is prosecuting the case.
