United States of America v. Kahrese Tracey Scott Lee

Akron, Ohio, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with conspiracy to transport stolen vehicles, possession of stolen cars, trafficking in stolen vehicles, possession of stolen auto parts, and operating a chop shop.

between at least October 2023 and October 2024, Kahrese Tracey Scott Lee, ate 28, of Cincinnati, who is also known as “Reese Lee” and “Bennett Jones,” knowingly worked with others to orchestrate an interstate stolen car ring. The defendant operated a garage in Dayton and received dozens of stolen vehicles. For example, during May 2024 alone, Lee’s Dayton chop shop housed within it more than half a million dollars in stolen cars and vehicle parts.

Lee often dissembled stolen vehicles and removed their parts for resale or for placement in another vehicle. He both received and traded or sold vehicles out of state.

On occasion, Lee also stole vehicles himself or worked with others to do so. During one planned theft incident, Lee and others traveled from Ohio to Indiana, where they stole three vehicles valued at more than $200,000 total from an auto lot.

Law enforcement ultimately discovered Lee and others in possession of the stolen vehicles in Alabama, where Lee planned to establish a new garage. Officers confiscated the cars and returned them to the Indiana dealership that owned them.

Lee and his accomplices had placed a tracking device on one of the stolen cars and tracked it back to Indiana. Lee traveled back to the Indiana dealership and attempted to steal the vehicle again; however, law enforcement apprehended him as he attempted to do so.

Lee and six others were charged by a federal indictment in November 2024.

Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jason Cromartie, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Dayton Police Chief Kamran Afzal announced the sentence imposed today by Senior U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice. Deputy Criminal Chief Brent G. Tabacchi and Assistant United States Attorney Rob Painter are representing the United States in this case.

The Defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to 84 months in prison.