Man Sentenced For Vehicle Theft Scheme Involving Greenwich Dealership: U.S. Attorney

GREENWICH, CT — A New York City man was sentenced Wednesday to 3.5 years in prison for his role in a series of vehicle thefts from a Greenwich car dealership, according to an announcement from David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Lei Zhou, also known as "Lei Lei," 43, of Flushing, Queens, N.Y., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford.

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According to court documents and statements made in court, Zhou and others used stolen personal and financial information and stolen or counterfeit identity cards from multiple identity theft victims to apply for loans to purchase or lease at least six luxury vehicles with a total value of more than $650,000 from a car dealership in Greenwich, Sullivan said. The group then transported the vehicles to New York and sought to resell them.

Sullivan noted, for example, that on OCt. 4, 2022, Zhou used a stolen identity and obtained $114,175.31 in financing to purchase a 2021 Chevrolet Corvette from the Greenwich dealership.

Zhou also submitted a forged $14,000 check in the name of another identity theft victim as a down payment toward the purchase, Sullivan said, adding that Zhou then transported the Corvette to New York for resale.

Most of the vehicles were repossessed before they could be resold, according to Sullivan.

Zhou has been detained since his arrest on Aug. 30, 2024. On May 22, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

A citizen of China and a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., Zhou has a criminal history that includes convictions for menacing with a weapon, aggravated harassment, and attempted robbery, and a federal conviction in the Southern District of New York in connection with the trafficking of methamphetamine, Sullivan said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Greenwich Police Department and the New York City Police Department, investigated the case.