A man in Central Florida has been arrested for operating a title-washing ring, following an extensive investigation that lasted almost a year.
The investigation was initiated by the Auto Theft Unit of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in March 2024. Deputies were initially alerted to the illegal activity when they responded to an incident at the Plant City Tax Collector’s Office. It was there that they encountered Essa Cham, a 46-year-old individual who had attempted to use a fraudulent South Carolina title in order to retitle a 2022 Mercedes GLE 350 in Florida.
The detectives traced the investigation to Ahmed Njie, a 40-year-old individual who was involved in fraudulent vehicle retitling in Florida. Njie was found to be revinning vehicles as part of his scheme. Alongside Njie, two other co-defendants were identified as accomplices: Czedesia Simon, aged 45, and Seynabou Sall, aged 42.
Deputies pulled over a Range Rover on June 2, 2024, as it was considered a vehicle of interest in an ongoing investigation and suspected of being re-vined. Initially, the driver provided a fake name, but eventually, deputies identified him as Njie. Consequently, Njie was arrested and charged with False Name to Law Enforcement Officer as well as Driving While License Canceled, Suspended, or Revoked. Upon inspecting the Range Rover, detectives discovered several fraudulent VIN stickers. It was revealed that the vehicle had been reported stolen by the Lake City Police Department on June 18, 2022.
Njie is suspected by detectives of being in possession of a total of seven vehicles. These vehicles consist of two Mercedes-Benz cars, a Toyota, a Genesis, a Jeep, a Dodge, and a Range Rover. Out of these seven vehicles, five have been identified as having fraudulent titles. Additionally, three of the vehicles were reported stolen, while one was discovered to have been titled fraudulently in the state of Florida using a fraudulent identity.
Njie was arrested while he was out on bond.
Njie was charged with RICO violation, RICO conspiracy or endeavor, illegal use of a two-way communication device, grand theft motor vehicle (X3), forged motor vehicle or mobile home title, selling or possessing a vehicle with altered numbers (X6), and knowingly using an altered or forged title (X3).
“The diligent work of our detectives has led to the dismantling of this fraudulent operation,” said Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister. “Let this arrest send a message that criminal schemes will be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted.”
Local law enforcement is currently conducting an active investigation.