Four Louisiana Men Plead Guilty to Roles in Interstate Car Theft Ring

New Orleans, Louisiana – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Tawuan Sylvester, age 47, Gregory Butler, age 38, Jonathan Bush, age 35, and Aaron Thibodeaux, age 36, all of New Orleans, Louisiana, pleaded guilty on August 23, 2022, and August 24, 2022, before Chief U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown to conspiring to transport and sell stolen cars across state lines in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 (conspiracy).

According to the indictment, Sylvester, Butler, Bush, and Thibodeaux took cars from car dealerships and rental car facilities in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. Following the theft of the vehicles, the defendants would retitle them with the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles using false Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINS). The defendants would resell the cars at discounted prices to purchasers in the New Orleans metro area after they were retitled and cloned with fraudulent VINS.

At sentencing on December 8, 2022, all four Louisiana men face a maximum term of imprisonment of five years each, a maximum fine of up to $250,000, a maximum term of supervised release of three years, and a mandatory $100 special assessment charge.

U.S. Attorney Evans applauded the investigation conducted by the US Department of Homeland Security and the Louisiana State Police. The prosecution is led by Assistant United States Attorneys Spiro G. Latsis and Jon Maestri.