Crime ring leader in Pa. license plate scheme sentenced to prison

Three men who fraudulently obtained more than 1,000 Pennsylvania license plates for a criminal operation have been sentenced to prison, Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Friday.

Rafael Levi and his accomplices rented Pennsylvania license plates to drivers in New York City and other locations, allowing those who used the plates to avoid paying more than $1 million in parking fines and EZ Pass tolls across several states. They used fraudulent documents to obtain license plates from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Department of State, then charged drivers $400 a month or more to use them. The men also obtained fake drivers licenses and insurance cards, washed car titles and rolled back odometer readings to sell vehicles for more money.

“The organized criminal ring led by Rafael Levi used legitimate business tactics – applying for licenses, insurance and car loans – for totally illegitimate purposes,” Shapiro said. “From fraudulent license plates to phony car titles and other frauds, they gamed the system to rack up millions in illegal profits. Now, they’re facing justice for their crimes.”

Charges were filed in April 2017 following an investigation and statewide grand jury.

Levi pled guilty to 36 felonies in March and forfeited luxury vehicles including a 2015 Rolls Royce Wraith, a 2015 Ferrari and a 2007 Ferrari F430 to count toward the $1.3 million restitution owed by all three defendants sentenced today. The vehicles were sold at auction earlier this month.

Levi was sentenced to five to 10 years in state prison. Victor Lalo was sentenced to two to four years in jail. Edward Leyberman was sentenced to 10 to 20 months in jail.

Thirteen businesses were also sentenced to five years probation, a civil penalty of $15,000 to the Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority and a $10,000 fine. Those businesses are Aflac Auto Sales, ALS Auto Transport, Chase Auto Sales, Jay Sam Auto Sales, LR Auto Sales Transport, Oscar & Pepper Auto Sales, West Fall Auto Sales, Winston Auto Transport, Wyatt Motoring, Prestige AAA Auto Sales, VR Auto Sales, Hobs Auto Transport and HH Motoring.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has implemented reforms to prevent similar crimes. Those measures include a financial analysis to determine whether a used car dealership’s bulk order of license plates is fraudulent or if sales data supports the number of plates ordered.