Haitian resident of PG County sentenced to 37 months in prison for conspiring to ship stolen vehicles to West Africa – Southern Maryland News Net

U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced Rodley Balthazar, 30, a Haitian citizen residing in Laurel, Maryland, to 37 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit vehicle transportation stolen automobiles and receiving and possessing stolen automobiles.

The sentence was announced by the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Adam Rottman, director of the Port of Baltimore, U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and Maryland Transportation Authority Police Chief Col. Joseph F. Scott.

According to his plea agreement, between approximately September 2019 and June 2022, Balthazar worked with others to fraudulently rent vehicles from Hertz, Avis and other car rental companies in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, DC, Tennessee and elsewhere. Balthazar was able to rent these cars using fake IDs and credit cards.

The vehicles would then be transported to Maryland where they would be loaded onto large shipping containers and taken to the Port of Baltimore. Then, using false declaration forms and other documents to conceal the contents of the containers, the containers containing rental vehicles would be exported to West Africa by cargo ship where the vehicles could be sold.

Law enforcement is aware of more than 40 vehicles that Balthazar and his co-conspirators exported or attempted to export to West Africa.

Co-conspirator Jonathan Davis, 39, of Laurel, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to receiving and possessing stolen vehicles and was sentenced to 13 months in federal prison. A third co-conspirator, Abdul Karim Turay Jr. pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, 2024.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the HSI Border Security Task Force and the Maryland Transportation Authority Police for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Darren S. Gardner and Timothy F. Hagan who prosecuted the case.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and

This entry was posted on June 7, 2024 at 4:35 am and filed under All News, County, Law Enforcement, More News, Prince George's News, z 600X120 Top Ad Bottom, z Police Ad Top. You can follow responses to this entry via the RSS 2.0 feed.