Central Pa. vehicle fraud scheme profited well over $500K, AG says in announcing charges

Attorney General Dave Sunday and the Pennsylvania State Police announced criminal charges on Thursday against more than a dozen individuals for financial crimes — including identity theft, insurance fraud, forgery and washing vehicle titles —that took place in a Lebanon-based “chop shop” and criminal enterprise.

“Chop shops” are businesses that illegally disassemble stolen vehicles to resell whole vehicles or individual parts.

A recent investigation by the attorney general and state police, called “Operation Dirty Paper,” involved two separate presentments from the 52nd Statewide Investigating Grand Jury. 

The investigation found that the Vidal Organization, led by Lebanon resident Angel Vidal, illegally sold and moved 28 vehicles with an estimated combined value of $640,000 from Sept. 3, 2020, to Nov. 8, 2023, according to the Grand Jury report

The business profited “well over” $500,000 while in operation, the report stated.

The grand jury’s second presentment regarded the El Fuerte Auto Sales and El Fuerte Tire & Auto in Lebanon City, which were run by defendants Yonathan Peguero-Rodriguez and Johandeiry Bonilla.

El Fuerte performed specialized criminal acts and tasks that supported the Vidal Organization, such as conducting improper vehicle inspections, falsifying inspection records, and misrepresenting vehicle purchase prices and dealer plates, according to the report. The investigation found more than $50,000 in profits resulting from El Fuerte’s involvement.

In all, 15 individuals and the two El Fuerte business entities were charged in recent days with numerous offenses, including, but not limited to, corrupt organizations, insurance fraud, bank fraud, identity theft, and forgery, according to the press release sent out afterward.

Vidal is incarcerated at Northampton County Prison for similar alleged conduct in that county, the release added.

Sunday called the enterprise “an elaborate, multi-layered criminal organization with numerous individuals playing specialized roles in this well-oiled machine that profited illegally for several years.”

The attorney general’s office began collaborating with prosecutors, agents, analysts and agencies such as PennDOT after the National Insurance Crime Bureau brought the case to the state police in 2021, according to Chief Deputy Attorney General Rob LaBar. 

The grand jury’s first presentment involved the “chop shop” operation based in Vidal’s Lebanon City home. Although the grand jury offered separate presentments, the conduct was interwoven to form a singular criminal enterprise, according to Sunday.

In a summary of the investigation, the grand jury revealed a series of schemes: The Vidal Organization used false identification to rent vehicles out of state, which gave them time to run the vehicles through the “chop shop” before authorities had full knowledge of the theft. They rented vehicles from agencies like U-Haul, Avis, Hertz, and Enterprise in Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, and New Jersey. 

When rental companies eventually went searching for culprits, they could not find any real identities, Sunday explained. 

“This scheme had a direct impact on Pennsylvanians, as the Vidal organization stole identities and then posed as those individuals to obtain insurance policies and other transactions,” he said. 

In the meantime, Vidal and his associates dismantled vehicles at the “chop shop,” gave them new VIN numbers with washed titles, and prepared them to be sold to unsuspecting, legitimate buyers as well as co-conspirators, the report detailed.

“The vehicles were often sold [at] below market value so that they would sell quickly and the Vidal Organization could then wash their hands with them,” Sunday said.

A laundry list of financial crimes bankrolled the enterprise, according to Sunday, including identity fraud, bank fraud, insurance fraud, check fraud and the sale of fraudulent documents. 

Although no one was injured or killed as a result of the conduct, Sunday said the conduct had a significant impact on people coming into contact with the stolen vehicles.

“‘Chop shops’ pose public safety threats as they dismantle vehicles and put those vehicles back on the streets without proper, thorough safety inspections that assure that a vehicle is safe,” he said. 

Additionally, Sunday highlighted the risk that fraudulent documents, title washing and altered VIN numbers pose to road safety.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.