California Woman Sentenced To 6 Years In Bergen Car Theft Scheme

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A California woman was sentenced to prison for her role in a car theft scheme which involved "straw buyers" and luxury cars, the Attorney General's Office announced Friday.

Jacqueline Reyes-Keegan, 60, was sentenced to six-years in state prison on Thursday. Reyes-Keegan, formerly of Fairview, was found guilty of second-degree conspiracy related to thefts from a car dealership in February.

She was acquitted of that theft charge, but pleaded guilty to an additional charge of second-degree theft by deception during a separate indictment in June. That charge carries a six-year prison term, which will run concurrently to the sentence handed down Thursday.

Two others were involved in the scheme, officials say, including Spencer Crump, 45, of Teaneck, and Abdul B. Seedat, 64, of Fairview.

Crump was the leader of the scheme according to officials, and pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy. He was sentenced to five years in prison in July 2019.

Officials say Crump and a company he controlled, SLC Logistics LLC, recruited "straw buyers" to target a Tenafly and Hackensack car dealership, which Reyes-Keegan assisted in.

The recent trial related to Reyes-Keegan's involvement in the Tenafly dealership theft, in which the defendants stole over $275,000 in loan proceeds to buy four luxury cars.

Payments were promised to the buyers, who were instructed to sign the car loans before turning the cars over to Crump and Reyes-Keegan.

Over $300,000 in fradulent loans were obtained from the Hackensack dealership, according to officials. Seedat, they say, was a dealership employee and participated in the scheme.

"This prison sentence sends an important deterrent message to con artists like these defendants that prison, not profits, will be the end result of their criminal schemes," said Attorney General Grewal.