Recent Federal court records in the United States reveal that two Chinese men, both 25 years old, are facing multiple federal charges including telecommunications fraud. They are accused of impersonating others to purchase and lease several Tesla vehicles.
According to a report from local television station WTKR in Norfolk, Virginia, the Federal court records indicate that Jialiang Huang and Yaoxu Zhou, students at Virginia Tech, are facing charges such as telecommunications fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft.
Prosecutors allege that during the spring and summer of this year, the two men used stolen identification to buy and lease multiple Tesla vehicles. They then removed the GPS tracking systems from the cars and used forged documents to transfer the vehicles to Montana for re-registration.
Court documents state that removing the GPS systems makes it difficult for law enforcement agencies to track the whereabouts of the vehicles. Arrest warrants have been issued for the two individuals.
The alleged incidents took place in Henrico County and Norfolk, Virginia. Prosecutors claim that on May 16, Huang and Zhou went to a Tesla dealership in Norfolk, impersonated a man, and leased a Cybertruck electric pickup truck under his identity. They made an initial payment of over $11,000 but Tesla did not receive any further payments. The victim discovered a car loan application on his credit report and reported it to the authorities.
Prosecutors also allege that the two individuals collaborated with another suspect in China and a man currently detained in a California prison on related charges.
Local legal analyst Sonny Stallings told WTKR that he believes the case was carefully planned, with the perpetrators having prior knowledge of the identification and insurance information required to rent a car. He advised the public to regularly check their credit reports to prevent identity theft.