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A Chinese national, HUACHUN ZHENG, also known as ‘Ri Yuan,’ was sentenced to 30 months in prison for a brazen identity theft and luxury car scheme in Connecticut.
Zheng, a Queens, New York resident with no legal status in the US, used stolen personal and financial info to buy and lease high-end vehicles from a Greenwich dealership. He then resold them in New York.
On September 27, 2022, Zheng, using a stolen identity, obtained $94,742.73 to purchase a 2019 Porsche Panamera. But the scheme was foiled, and the dealership repossessed the vehicle before it could be resold.
Zheng’s co-conspirators also used stolen identities to purchase other vehicles from the dealership. His arrest in Nassau County, New York, on September 10, 2022, was connected to a scheme in which he and others passed fraudulent checks to purchase jewelry.
Zheng pleaded guilty on January 6, 2026, to one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. He’s been detained since his arrest on January 28, 2025.
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📋 Key Facts
- Crime: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Defendant: Vehicle Theft
- Location: CT
- Source: DOJ Press Release
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