A New York man has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for his role in an identity theft scheme that involved buying luxury cars from a dealership in Connecticut.
Lei Zhou, also known as “Lei Lei,” 43, of Flushing, New York appeared Wednesday in federal court in Hartford where U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala sentenced him to 42 months in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.
Federal officials said Zhou and others used personal and financial information stolen from identity theft victims to apply for loans to buy or lease “at least” six luxury vehicles worth a total of more than $650,000 from a car dealership in Greenwich. They also used identification cards that were stolen or counterfeit, officials said.
After being purchased, the vehicles were taken to New York to be sold, according to federal authorities.
In one instance, officials said Zhou used a stolen identity to obtain $114,175 in financing to purchase a 2021 Chevrolet Corvette in October 2022. To complete the purchase, he gave a forged $14,000 check as a down payment, according to authorities. The vehicle was then driven to New York to be sold.
According to officials, most of the vehicles purchased in the scheme were repossessed before they could be resold.
Zhou, who has been detained since his arrest in August 2024, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft during a hearing on May 22, officials said.
Authorities noted that Zhou, a citizen of China and lawful permanent resident of the U.S., has a previous 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 related to the trafficking of methamphetamine.