Lei Zhou, who also goes by \u201cLei Lei,\u201d 43, is a citizen of China, who legally lives in Flushing, a neighborhood in New York City\u2019s Queens borough.<\/p>\n
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According to a report<\/a> Thursday from the U.S. Attorney<\/a> for the District of Connecticut, Lei pleaded guilty in May to one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and another count of aggravated identity theft.<\/p>\n Prosecutors proved in federal court that Lei helped execute a series of vehicle thefts from a Greenwich car dealership by using personal information taken from different victims of identity theft.<\/p>\n RELATED: 3 Missouri men charged in same Bitcoin theft scheme that 6 Florida men already pleaded guilty to<\/a><\/p>\n Court documents and statements show that Zhou and his accomplices used stolen personal or financial information and stolen or counterfeit identity cards from numerous victims of identity theft to facilitate the scheme.<\/p>\n They then applied for and received loans to purchase or lease at least six luxury vehicles with a total retail value of more than $650,000 from the Greenwich car dealership.<\/p>\n These vehicles were then taken to New York, where Zhou and the co-conspirators tried reselling them.<\/p>\n Sign up for the FOX61 newsletters:\u00a0Morning Forecast, Morning Headlines, Evening Headlines<\/a><\/p>\n For example, on Oct. 4, 2022, Zhou used a stolen identity to acquire $114,175 in financing to buy a 2021 Chevrolet Corvette from the dealership in Greenwich.<\/p>\n In this case, Zhou submitted a fraudulent $14,000 check in the name of another identity theft victim as a down payment to secure the transaction. He then took the Corvette to New York to be resold.<\/p>\n Fortunately, prosecutors said most of the vehicles were repossessed before they were illegally sold off.<\/p>\n The report notes that Zhou was ultimately arrested on Aug. 30, 2024. He has been detained since.<\/p>\n RELATED: Peruvian unlawfully in US sentenced in Connecticut for stealing IDs and money<\/a><\/p>\n Prosecutors added that Zhou\u2019s criminal history in the U.S. already includes state and federal convictions.<\/p>\n For instance, he was previously convicted of menacing with a weapon, aggravated harassment and attempted robbery.<\/p>\n He was also federally convicted in the Southern District of New York for trafficking methamphetamine.<\/p>\n Zhou\u2019s current case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with help from the Greenwich Police Department and New York City Police Department.<\/p>\n Assistant U.S. Attorney Elena Coronado led the prosecution.<\/p>\n Dalton Zbierski is a digital editor and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at\u00a0dzbierski@FOX61.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Do you have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at\u00a0newstips@fox61.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS<\/p>\n Download the FOX61 News APP<\/p>\n iTunes:\u00a0Click here<\/a> to download<\/p>\n Google Play:\u00a0Click here<\/a> to download<\/p>\n Stream Live on ROKU:\u00a0Add the channel from the ROKU store<\/a> or by searching FOX61.<\/p>\n Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search \u2018FOX61\u2019 and click \u2018Get\u2019 to download.<\/p>\n FOLLOW US ON\u00a0X<\/a>,\u00a0FACEBOOK<\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0INSTAGRAM<\/a><\/p>\n