Wisconsin woman charged in elaborate money laundering scheme involving stolen vehicles | Crime

Casha T. Griffin was charged with conspiracy to commit dollars laundering of a lot more than $100,000 on Wednesday in Kenosha County Circuit Court docket.

On March 15, a Kenosha County Sheriff’s deputy responded to Neumiller Woods Park, 8100 12th St., for a report of license plates found in the area. Upon arrival, the deputy observed plates belonging to a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk that experienced been noted stolen out of Milwaukee County, according to the felony criticism. 

A Kenosha County Sheriff’s detective later on spoke with his counterpart in Milwaukee County, who told him that in the previous calendar year, 20 motor vehicles have been stolen from Common Mitchell Airport. The automobiles currently being qualified were reportedly high-close Dodge Hellcats, Dodge Ram TRX and Jeep Trackhawks, some of which had onboard GPS that showed they have been in the location of 12th Avenue and Eco-friendly Bay Street in Somers around Neumiller Woods Park, according to the complaint.

About a 7 days later, a sheriff’s deputy responded to Hawthorn Residences, 5802 10th Position, for a report of a Dodge Ram TRX that experienced been parked for various times with a broken window. The sophisticated is located in the place exactly where the stolen cars have been situated by GPS. 

When the deputy arrived, the Ram TRX was absent, but though canvasing the location he located a parked white Ford Transit van with an Alabama plate. The deputy done a visitors stop of the van, and the driver, Diaunte D. Shields, reported he was visiting Griffin, his girlfriend, and denied realizing something about a Ram TRX, according to the criticism.

A vehicle registration check out on the van’s plate reportedly was connected with Prospect Motors LLC in Adamsville, Ala. When a Kenosha detective produced speak to with Prospect Motors, the firm reportedly stated that the plate was issued to Griffin, who was going to work as a wholesaler consumer of vehicles for Prospect Motors out of the Chicago region. Prospect Motors reportedly stated Griffin stopped all conversation with them just after receiving the seller plate and has not long gone to any car auctions or carried out any wholesaler acquiring for the firm.

Though conducting surveillance on the condominium complex, a detective copied the white van’s identification quantity and positioned a BMW upcoming to the van with short-term Georgia plates registered by way of the Wisconsin Section of Transportation to Griffin and a car or truck rental corporation owned by her boyfriend, according to the grievance.

When the detective spoke with an agent of the Countrywide Insurance Crime Bureau about the VIN on the white van, it was reportedly uncovered that the VIN was under no circumstances established by Ford Motor Corporation and is fraudulent, suggesting it is an stolen car or truck.

A Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) report on Griffin showed that her account was flagged in August 2021 for suspicious money payments “in which the source is not known and the action is out of sample offered employment and her heritage,” according to the complaint. Griffin’s FinCEN reportedly showed that from Nov. 27, 2021, to Dec. 21, 2021, Griffin experienced $81,370 of suspicious account activity in that one particular month by itself. 

On April 6, a U.S. Postal inspector educated the detective that a priority U.S. passport tackled to Shields was sent on April 4 at a Nice Prairie handle, in which both Shields and Griffin receive mail. 

The Sheriff’s Department ongoing to look into the circumstance and acquired a warrant for the Hawthorn Apartments unit that was executed April 26. Griffin was arrested in her unit.

Within the device, hundreds of thousands of dollars of designer apparel, footwear, jewellery and things significantly past her indicates were recovered, in accordance to the criticism. Numerous digital units employed to steal vehicles by programing blank key fobs, car or truck scan equipment, money, 4.5 grams of cannabis and a receipt for a Barth Storage unit were being also identified. The white van with the phony VIN was also uncovered at the residence. 

Investigators also attained a search warrant for the storage unit. Discovered inside of the device ended up a pistol that had been documented stolen, a modified rifle, software containers, a lock decide established and signal jammer equipment, according to the criminal complaint. An additional warrant for a residence in the 8500 block of 90th Avenue in Kenosha was issued, and a credit score card-building device, license plates and a firearm ended up located inside of, according to the criticism.

Griffin is also experiencing felonies of operating a vehicle without an owner’s consent, altering or taking away a vehicle’s identification range as party to a crime, counterfeiting car or truck titles as celebration to a criminal offense and theft of moveable property valued more than $10,000 as celebration to a criminal offense. 

Court Commissioner Loren Keating set Griffin’s bond at $100,000 on Wednesday afternoon at consumption courtroom. A preliminary hearing is established for Might 12.