GREENBELT, MD—A Maryland man has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for his role in a massive stolen car ring.

Prosecutors say that Karim Abdul Turay, 31, was one of three people working together to steal and illegally ship cars out of the country.

Between September of 2019 and June of 2022, Turay was able to rent cars from Avis, Hertz, and other car rental companies. Turay and the other people in the ring would use fake car identification and credit cards to rent cars.

The stolen cars were then taken to Maryland where they would be loaded on shipping containers and taken to the Port of Baltimore. Once they were at the port, they would be shipped overseas to West Africa where they could be sold.

To date, police say that Turay and his co-conspirators have exported over 40 cars. Turay has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit transportation of stolen motor vehicles. He has been sentenced to 51 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Jonathan Davis, 39, another co-conspirator from Laurel, Maryland, pleaded guilty to receipt and possession of stolen vehicles. He was sentenced to 13 months in federal prison. Rodley Balthazar, 30, also of Laurel, Maryland, pleaded guilty to the same charges as Turay and was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison.

This article was written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a human editor.

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