Souleymane Kah, 36, of Westerville, Ohio, pleaded guilty on June 1 before United States District Judge Kelley Brisbon Hodge to conspiracy and related charges connected to a scheme involving the theft and sale of more than 20 rental cars, the announcement was made by United States Attorney David Metcalf.
Kah was charged by superseding indictment in November of last year. According to court filings and statements, from approximately December 2020 through December 2021, Kah and others conspired to rent vehicles from car rental companies across central and eastern United States using fraudulent means. The group then transported the vehicles across state lines and sold them to various purchasers who exported the vehicles overseas.
The scheme involved obtaining genuine driver’s licenses belonging to third parties who were unaware their identities were being used or creating fake driver’s licenses for use in renting the cars. The stolen vehicles were often moved across state borders to facilitate their sale. Payments for these transactions were received in cash, through electronic money transfer applications, or as a luxury vehicle.
Kah is scheduled for sentencing on September 22 and faces a maximum possible sentence of 25 years’ imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Meghan Claiborne Bisio and Kara Traster.
