Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced Friday that ten people, including a juvenile, were charged as part of a $1.6 million scheme that investigators branded “Operation Zombie VIN” and that the organization’s ringleader had been apprehended in Philadelphia.
Investigators reported that approximately 50 automobiles were stolen and given vehicle identification numbers (VIN) from retired vehicles to disguise the thefts before reselling them for profit. “This criminal organization defrauded the Commonwealth’s vehicle titling system, endangering unsuspecting vehicle buyers,” Sunday said in a statement.
According to Sunday, charges were filed against ten people, including one minor, following an investigation by the Office of Attorney General’s Organized Crime and Insurance Fraud Sections, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Philadelphia Police Department. The group’s commander was identified as Reginald Manson, Jr., 45, by the Attorney General’s office.
According to Sunday, Manson was apprehended Thursday at a hotel in Philadelphia after being on the run for two months. He was arraigned on Thursday and denied bail, with a district court citing “the safety of the community” to keep him in custody.
Manson is charged with felony corrupt organizations, receiving stolen goods, forgery, and other felonies and misdemeanors. Manson is also charged with felony drug trafficking after 2.5 kg of methamphetamine was discovered in his storage locker in Montgomery County.
The attorney general’s office stated that the nine other suspects, including the male minor, face corrupt organizations and associated charges for their actions in the probe. Eight of these nine people have been charged.
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