$8M crime ring sent 90 luxury cars from New Jersey to Africa, prosecutors say

🚔 New Jersey prosecutors charged 63 people in an $8 million luxury auto theft ring.

🚗 Investigators said more than 90 stolen vehicles were shipped to African countries.

⚠️ Authorities say the theft network drove up costs and threatened public safety across New Jersey.

IRVINGTON — More than 60 people, including three juveniles, have been charged with racketeering in a luxury car theft ring bust.

The sophisticated operation made $8 million in only one year, according to Attorney General Jennifer Davenport. Investigators found they trafficked more than 90 stolen vehicles such as BMWs, Porsches, Ferraris, and Range Rovers from New Jersey ports to Ghana and Nigeria. Prosecutors filed charges against 63 individuals.

Prosecutors say Newark men led sophisticated luxury car theft network

Two men from Newark headed the sophisticated, vertically integrated organization, according to state prosecutors. Brian Peppers, 35, and Fatim Wingate, 26, acted as the main fences; each man faces more than a dozen charges, including financial crimes, motor vehicle theft offenses, fencing, and leading an auto theft trafficking network.

Prosecutors said that Peppers and Wingate also led and participated in theft crews that carried out burglaries of homes and businesses, vehicle thefts, and an armed robbery.

Investigators found several stolen vehicles in shipping containers waiting for export at the ports of New Jersey and New York. Those cars were traced back to a shipping yard in Irvington. Standford Oduro, 56, is accused of operating the shipping yard and being present for the sales of many stolen vehicles.

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Containers are loaded and unloaded from cargo ships at Port Liberty on April 10, 2025 in Bayonne, New Jersey. (Spencer Platt, Getty Images)

Officials warn auto theft rings raise insurance costs

Car theft rings do more harm than simply deprive people of their vehicles, said acting state Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Bernard Cooney. And they hurt all New Jersey drivers.

“They endanger public safety, lead to violence, and fuel fear in our communities. Such crimes also impose significant costs throughout the insurance system that can ultimately affect the affordability of auto insurance for law-abiding New Jersey drivers," Cooney said.

While the scale of the operation is staggering, it's not a new concept for North Jersey.

In 2014, more than a decade ago, state authorities announced charges against 29 individuals accused of running an $8 million luxury car theft ring. At the time, state prosecutors said "Operation Jacked" recovered more than 160 stolen vehicles that would have been shipped to West Africa.

More recently, three men and two juveniles were sentenced for a car theft ring last year.

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