Scheme used ID theft to steal cars in state, elsewhere

A Connecticut man has pleaded guilty to charges connected to a series of vehicle thefts from dealerships using personal information from identity-theft victims, according to federal authorities.

Ryan Testa, 47, of Bristol, pleaded guilty this week before U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, according to federal authorities.

Combined, the charges could bring more than 30 years in prison.

Authorities, citing both court documents and statement made in court, said Testa’s alleged co-conspirator used “personal information stolen from residents of Connecticut and other states to apply for vehicle loans at dealerships in Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Rhode Island for motorcycles, an all-terrain vehicle and other performance vehicles.”

Then, when the loan was approved by the dealership, “Testa’s co-conspirator would send a series of runners, including Testa, to pick up the vehicle, utilizing a fictitious driver’s license that included the identity-theft victim’s information and a photograph of the runner,” federal authorities said in a statement.

The vehicle would then be brought to Connecticut for resale on Facebook Marketplace, authorities said.

Hall scheduled Testa’s sentencing for May 21; he has been detained since May 16, 2023.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI New Haven Safe Streets/ Gang Task Force, Bridgeport Police Department, Hopkinton Police Department, Westtown—east Goshen Regional Police Department, and Washington Township Police Department.