A Laurel man was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for conspiring to ship stolen cars to West Africa, authorities announced Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte handed down the sentence to Rodley Balthazar, 30, a Haitian citizen who resides in Laurel, Maryland.
Balthazar was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit transportation of stolen motor vehicles and receipt and possession of stolen motor vehicles, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
According to court documents, Balthazar and his co-conspirators rented vehicles from car rental companies using false identifications and credit cards, and then transported the vehicles to the Port of Baltimore, where they were loaded onto cargo shipping containers and exported to West Africa.
Law enforcement has identified more than 40 vehicles that Balthazar and his co-conspirators either exported or attempted to export to West Africa, authorities said.
Balthazar’s co-conspirators include Jonathan Davis, 39, of Laurel, Maryland, who previously pleaded guilty to receipt and possession of stolen vehicles and was sentenced to 13 months in federal prison. A third co-conspirator, Abdul Karim Turay Jr., has pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, 2024.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron praised the HSI Border Enforcement Security Task Force and the Maryland Transportation Authority Police for their work in the investigation. ‘The sentencing of Rodley Balthazar demonstrates the commitment of our office and our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who engage in significant white-collar crimes,’ Barron said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Darren S. Gardner and Timothy F. Hagan for their work on the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office and its resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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