Acting Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced that a man was indicted today on charges that he used stolen identities to obtain official identification documents from the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC).
He allegedly used the stolen identities and official documents in a fraudulent scheme to obtain new titles for vehicles in New Jersey and conceal liens totaling more than $239,000 held by lenders that financed the cars.
Anthony A. Ferrer, 48, of New York, N.Y., was charged in a 43-count state grand jury indictment with conspiracy, official misconduct, computer theft, theft by deception, bribery, and use of personal identifying information of another, all in the second degree, as well as numerous third-degree counts of motor vehicle title offenses, tampering with public records or information, and forgery. The second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison.
A customer service representative for the MVC at the Washington MVC Agency in Warren County conspired to process two of the fraudulent New Jersey titles for Ferrer, in return for which Ferrer allegedly paid her $5,000.
The former MVC employee, Yukeam N. Cousins, 44, of Washington, pleaded guilty on May 25 to third-degree tampering with public records or information and faces a recommended sentence of 364 days in the county jail and five years of probation.
The investigation began with a referral from the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, which resulted from the MVC’s Facial Scrub program. In Operation Facial Scrub, the MVC uses state-of-the-art facial recognition technology to review the millions of photo records in its database and identify any duplicative photo records that may indicate administrative errors or customer fraud. A facial scrub analysis revealed photographs of Ferrer associated with multiple identities.
The MVC referred the case to the Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau, which conducted the investigation.
The state’s investigation revealed that Ferrer submitted fraudulent applications for identification to the MVC using the identifying information and multiple identification documents in the names of two other real persons.
As a result, he received a New Jersey non-driver’s identification card and a driver’s examination permit in the name of one of the men, and two driver’s examination permits (one for a motorcycle) and a Class D digital driver’s license in the name of the second man.
The investigation further revealed that he used the two stolen identities in connection with a scheme in which he obtained and titled vehicles in one name in New York, and then fraudulently transferred title into a second name in New Jersey – or, in one instance, in Georgia – while in most cases removing liens from the titles related to financing that was provided for the purchase of the vehicles. Ferrer is charged in connection with nine vehicle titles that allegedly were obtained through fraud in New Jersey. In eight of the nine instances in which vehicles were re-titled, he allegedly used one of the two stolen identities either for the New Jersey vehicle title or the prior title.
Ferrer allegedly submitted fraudulent lien release letters in connection with seven of the nine New Jersey vehicle titles. The liens on those seven vehicles totaled approximately $239,820. That is the basis for the charge of theft by deception. He sold four of the vehicles, including a BMW X6 that he allegedly sold for $29,000 after fraudulently removing a lien for $62,950.
Ferrer currently is being held in the Brooklyn Detention Complex in Brooklyn, N.Y., on charges filed by the New York County District Attorney’s Office related to similar criminal conduct in New York State.
Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, while third-degree crimes carry a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
The indictment was handed up to Superior Court Judge Peter E. Warshaw in Mercer County, who assigned the case to Warren County, where Ferrer will be ordered to appear in court at a later date for arraignment.