Chinese National Jailed for Luxury Car Scam

0:00A 43-year-old Chinese national named Huachin Zheng, living illegally in Queens, New York, just got hit with 30 months in federal prison. For a slick, identity theft ring, targeting car dealerships, he pleaded guilty back on January 6th to conspiracy for bank and wire fraud, plus aggravated identity theft, and US district judge Sirala V. Nagala dropped a hammer in Hartford this Thursday. Zheng and his crew swive personal info and fake IDs from victims to score loans at luxury rides, like a Porsche Panamera from a Greenwich. Connecticut spot, then flip them in New York for quick cash. Meanwhile, they pulled the same stunt on other vehicles there, and the dealership clawed back that Porsche after the Fed's caught wind, plus, Zheng's. Team ran extra scams with stolen identities. He got nabbed in September 2022, driving a fraud-bought Maserati, already linked to fake checked jewelry buys, and he's been locked up since. Late January, awaiting this fall, immigration's waiting post-prison to handle his status.

1:02From New City, powered by AI, this is Hartford News Today.