'Major' Organized Crime Ring Busted In Pennsylvania: Attorney General

A "major" organized crime ring that used various schemes "to live in the lap of luxury,” has been busted, the Pennsylvania Attorney General announced Wednesday.

Authorities announced charges against 12 people and 14 businesses accused of obtaining thousands of fraudulent license plates and renting them, avoiding more than $1 million in parking fines and tolls.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro said the accused were part of a "massive criminal enterprise" that "profited significantly" by illegally obtaining the license plates. The charges followed an "extensive" investigation by the Attorney General’s Insurance Fraud Section and a statewide investigative grand jury, authorities said.

According to information from Shapiro's office, the crime ring was headed by 50-year-old Rafael Levi of Brooklyn, N.Y. and used "legitimate business tactics" – such as applying for licenses and insurance, car loans and purchases – for "completely illegitimate purposes.”

Levi and his co-defendants used "criminal schemes to live in the lap of luxury,” Shapiro said, adding the ring obtained luxury autos, including a Ferrari, through fraud.

According to a grand jury presentment made public Wednesday, here are the major elements of the fraudulent schemes perpetrated by the Levi ring:

• Levi and his associates provided fraudulent documents, to the PA Departments of Transportation and State. As a result, they illegally obtained more than a thousand Pennsylvania license plates. They rented the plates for $400 a month or more. The people who got these plates avoided paying parking fines and EZ Pass tolls totaling $1 million in New York, Pennsylvania and neighborhood states.
• The Levi ring provided cars and vehicles with fake insurance cards. When accidents would happen involving any of these cars, motorists filed claims with insurance companies – but there was no legitimate policy to pay on.
• The ring issued phony letters to PennDOT which enabled them to get clean titles on vehicles. The Levi ring scammed $500,000 owed to financial institutions through this part of the scheme.
• The ring rolled back odometer readings on 35 cars – enabled them to sell cars for more money than they otherwise would’ve sold for.
• The ring obtained Pennsylvania drivers licenses at an address in Pennsylvania that the defendants never lived at – another part of the scheme.
• The ring would get one of their interlocking dealerships to “buy” a vehicle in cash. The ring then proceeded to wash the car through another of the Levi organization’s many dealerships. The ring avoiding paying more than $100,000 in Pennsylvania sales tax in this manner.

The investigation began after the Attorney General’s Insurance Fraud Section received information from the Pennsylvania State Police.

Anyone with information about the individuals or businesses involved in this investigation is encouraged to call the Office of Attorney General’s Insurance Fraud Section at 717-787-0272.

PHOTO: Rafael Levi, PA Attorney General's Office