|
TRENTON
- Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal
Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced
that an Essex County man was sentenced to
state prison today for acting as a leader
of a multi-county automobile theft ring.
According
to Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Riza
Dagli, Ibn Y. Traynham, 34, of Orange, was
sentenced to six years in state prison by
Superior Court Judge Michael A. Petrolle
in Essex County. The sentence is based on
Traynham’s Sept. 22 guilty plea to
an accusation which charged him with leading
an auto theft trafficking network, a second-degree
crime.
In
pleading guilty, Traynham admitted that
between April 15, 2006 and April 22, 2010,
he conspired with others as an organizer,
supervisor and financier in a scheme to
unlawfully distribute, transport and bring
into New Jersey stolen, high-end automobiles.
The
plea was part of an ongoing investigation
into thefts of high-end automobiles from
Port Authority new car holding lots. The
Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
arrested Traynham this past April in an
undercover operation. Traynham attempted
to purchase a 2010 BMW 650I, valued at approximately
$90,000, which he believed had been stolen
from the Port Authority lot and which he
intended to resell.
Further
investigation revealed that Traynham was
an individual previously known only by the
nickname “T”. Traynham admitted
to being a leader of an automobile theft
ring that had sold stolen vehicles to an
undercover detective in a 2006 undercover
operation. He had eluded arrest and could
not be identified by name at the time. The
2006 investigation determined that Traynham
had sold stolen cars, including a 2005 Infiniti
FX valued at $31,770, a 2004 BMW M5 valued
at $41,270, a 2006 Audi A3 valued at $22,640,
and a 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche valued at
$15,000.
Detectives
Jarek Pyrzanowski and Amy Carson and former
Deputy Attorney General John J. Higgins
were assigned to the investigation. They
were assisted by Detective Wendy Berg. Deputy
Attorney General Nicole Rizzolo represented
the state at the sentencing and guilty plea
hearings. Acting Prosecutor Dagli thanked
the Port Authority of New York & New
Jersey Police, the Union County Prosecutor’s
Office and BMW North America for their assistance
in the investigation.
### |
