PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Souleymane Kah, 36, of Westerville, Ohio, was sentenced today to 60 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and $578,221 in restitution by United States District Judge Kelley Brisbon Hodge for his role in a scheme to steal and sell more than 20 rental cars.
The defendant was charged by superseding indictment in September of last year and pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy and two counts of transportation of stolen vehicles.
As detailed in court filings and statements, from about December 2020 to December 2021, Kah and others conspired to rent vehicles from car rental companies throughout central and eastern United States by fraudulent means, transport the vehicles in interstate commerce, and sell the stolen vehicles to various purchasers, who then exported the vehicles overseas.
Kah and others would rent the cars by obtaining and using genuine driver’s licenses belonging to third parties, who were not aware their licenses were being used for the scheme, or by causing fake driver’s licenses to be created and used.
The defendant and co-conspirators frequently transported, and caused to be transported, the stolen vehicles across state lines to facilitate their sale. They received payment for the stolen vehicles by various means, including cash, electronic payments via money transfer apps, and in the form of a luxury vehicle.
This case was investigated by the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Meghan Claiborne Bisio and Kara Traster.