Authorities bust alleged $8 million luxury car theft network in New Jersey

Investigation linked 63 defendants to a sprawling auto theft and export operation

State authorities have charged 63 people in connection with what prosecutors described as a sprawling auto theft trafficking enterprise that allegedly stole more than 90 luxury vehicles worth more than $8 million and shipped many of them to buyers in West Africa.

Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor, and the New Jersey State Police announced the charges Monday. All 63 defendants are charged with first-degree racketeering and face additional charges that include participation in an auto theft trafficking network, motor vehicle theft, receiving stolen property, and residential burglary.

According to prosecutors, the organization operated in New Jersey and New York from June 2025 through June 2026, targeting high-end vehicles such as Range Rovers, Porsches, and BMWs. Investigators allege theft crews often burglarized homes to steal key fobs before taking the vehicles.

Authorities said the stolen vehicles were brokered to buyers, many of whom intended to ship them to Ghana and Nigeria for resale. Prosecutors allege the organization was led by Newark residents Fatim Wingate, 26, Brian J. Peppers, 35, Adamu Alhassan, 28, and Standford Oduro, 55, who allegedly operated an Irvington shipping yard used to prepare stolen vehicles for export.

The investigation was led by the New Jersey State Police Motor Vehicle Crimes North Unit with assistance from numerous local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.