Please E-mail suggested additions, comments and/or corrections to Kent@MoreLaw.Com.
Help support the publication of case reports on MoreLaw
Date: 01-31-2025
Case Style:
United States of America v. Nathaniel Bell
Case Number:
Judge: Stanley R. Chesler
Court: The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (Essex County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office in Newark
Defendant's Attorney: Click Here For The Best Newark, New Jersey Criminal Defense Lawyer Directory
Description: Newark, New Jersey criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with conspiracy to receive, retitle, and “re-VIN” stolen vehicles.
Union County Man Sentenced To 57 Months In Prison For Stolen Vehicles Conspiracy
A Union County, New Jersey man was indicted for his role in a conspiracy to receive, retitle, and “re-VIN” stolen vehicles.
Nathaniel Bell, 27, of Linden, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to a seven-count information charging him with one count of conspiracy to receive stolen vehicles, five counts of altering or removing motor vehicle identification numbers (VINs) and one count of transportation of stolen vehicles.
Bell was the leader of a criminal conspiracy that obtained stolen vehicles from New Jersey, New York, Florida, and other states, obtained fraudulent titles for the stolen vehicles, and altered vehicle identification numbers to conceal the fact that the vehicles were stolen. Bell and his co-conspirators then sold the stolen cars to dealerships or individual purchasers so they could make a profit. In at least two instances, the co-conspirators sold a stolen car to an individual purchaser and then stole it back so they could sell it again. Bell also knowingly altered or removed the VIN numbers on five vehicles and knowingly transported a stolen vehicle between New York and New Jersey.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler sentenced Bell to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution.
Bell’s co-conspirators, Johnathan Tanksley, 31, of Orange; L’Hubermane Felix, 25, of Miami, Florida; and Dayanna Sarango-Hidalgo, 29, of Newark, have all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to receive stolen vehicles. Felix was previously sentenced to 24 months in prison. Tanksley and Sarango-Hidalgo await sentencing.
Acting U.S. Attorney Khanna credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly in Newark, with the investigation that led to the sentencing. He also thanked the New Jersey State Police Auto Theft Task Force; the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission; the Union County Prosecutor’s Office; the National Insurance Crime Bureau; the Jersey City Police Department; the Belleville Police Department; the Rahway Police Department; the Linden Police Department; the Roselle Police Department; the Eatontown Police Department; the Freehold Police Department; the Elizabeth Police Department; the Miami Police Department (Florida); the Florida Highway Patrol; Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; the Howard County Police Department (Maryland); the New York Police Department; the Nassau County Police Department (New York); the Georgia Department of Revenue; the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice; the Deputy Attorney General’s Office; the FBI Miami Office; the FBI Cleveland Office; and the FBI Milwaukee Office
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Kober of the Organized Crimes/Gangs Unit in Newark.
Outcome:
Defendant was found guilty and sentenced to 57 months in prison
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: