Connecticut Man Sentenced for Role in Million-Dollar Identity and Vehicle Theft Scheme
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Ryan Testa, a 48-year-old resident of Bristol, Connecticut, has been sentenced to two years and six months in federal prison following his participation in a large-scale identity theft and vehicle theft scheme that spanned multiple states. The scheme defrauded numerous individuals and businesses out of more than $1 million, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.
Court documents indicate that the scheme, which began around September 2020, involved Testa’s co-conspirator, Tyshon Walker, acquiring stolen personal information from victims in Connecticut and other states. Walker then used this information to apply for vehicle loans at dealerships located in Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Rhode Island. The vehicles targeted included luxury and high-performance cars, motorcycles, an all-terrain vehicle, and a boat. In each instance, the dealerships unknowingly processed the fraudulent information and approved the loans.
Prosecutors explained that Walker would then dispatch “runners” to pick up the vehicles. These runners used fake driver’s licenses containing their pictures but with the identity theft victims’ information. The vehicles were then transported back to Connecticut for resale, often through Facebook Marketplace.
Testa was recruited by Walker and his wife, Stephanie Perez, in early 2023 to act as a runner. Between March and May 2023, Testa followed Walker and Perez’s instructions, using stolen identities to obtain at least nine vehicles with a combined value of approximately $500,000. He was arrested on May 16, 2023, in Pennsylvania in connection with an attempted vehicle theft related to this scheme and has remained in custody since.
Testa pleaded guilty on February 27, 2024, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Walker and Perez also pleaded guilty to similar charges. Perez received a sentence of 14 months imprisonment last Thursday. Walker’s sentencing is still pending.
The investigation involved collaboration between the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force, the Bridgeport Police Department, the Hopkinton (R.I.) Police Department, the Westtown – East Goshen (Pa.) Police Department, and the Washington Township (N.J.) Police Department.
