On March 25, 2024 Andre Sumner, 41, and Erren Woodson, 39, were arrested by federal officials in Charlotte, NC accused of buying and selling stolen high end vehicles worth millions of dollars.
Andre and Erren are accused in a conspiracy to transport, possess, and sell stolen vehicles in interstate commerce, and to possess with intent to sell vehicles with altered Vehicle Identification Numbers.
Both defendants are also charged with possession of a stolen vehicle and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking activities.
The indictment alleges that, between 2022 and 2024, Andre, Erren, and others conspired to buy and sell high end motor vehicles that were stolen from car dealerships, rental car companies, and private parties across the United States, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Missouri.
As alleged in the indictment, Andre operated as a “fence” in the conspiracy, buying and selling the stolen motor vehicles. A fence is someone who assists in finding or dealing with buyers for stolen properties.
To maximize profits, Andre sought to fence high end stolen vehicles such as luxury models made by BMW, Land Rover, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce, as well as trucks and other expensive models from Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and RAM.
According to allegations in the indictment the conspiracy involved stolen vehicles worth millions of dollars. Charlotte Alerts is on Instagram.
The indictment further alleges that Andre sold the stolen cars to buyers at prices significantly below the vehicles’ fair market values. To avoid detection and to maximize the stolen vehicles’ resale values, Andre and others regularly altered the stolen vehicles’ original VINs and fraudulently registered the stolen vehicles with various state motor vehicle agencies, prosecutors say.
According to allegations in the indictment, Erren purchased stolen vehicles from Andre and sought potential buyers for the stolen vehicles.
The indictment alleges that, during the scheme, the suspects were also engaged in the distribution of narcotics and unlawfully possessed a variety of firearms, including handguns, shotguns and rifles, in furtherance of their drug trafficking activities.
