A crime ring is behind bars after being accused of stealing rental cars and selling them on the black market for the past three years.
On March 11, 2025, Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents, along with the Florida Highway Patrol and other state agencies, arrested five of the six wanted suspects on racketeering charges. One suspect also faces a charge of possession of a vehicle with altered vehicle identification numbers (VINs).
Investigators found 80 stolen cars taken since 2022, starting in Fort Myers. Authorities said the suspects stole rental cars from across the state, including in Lee, Collier, and Charlotte counties.
Inside many of the vehicles, investigators found that the thieves had hidden Apple AirTags, which allowed them to track the cars after they were rented. They would then use a cloned key to steal the vehicles.
Suspects with access to rental lots transported the vehicles to an undisclosed location, where they switched the VINs with fraudulent ones.
Authorities said the criminal enterprise was involved in multiple vehicle thefts across several Florida counties and committed similar crimes in other states, including Texas, Georgia, Colorado, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Ohio.
“This group of six individuals that we know of right now—we still have further investigations to conduct—started in the Fort Myers area back in 2022,” Attorney General James Uthmeier said at a press conference Thursday. “They saw a big rash of rental vehicles being stolen from airports in their area down there. They identified three of those suspects, all of whom had Tampa residences.”
Suspects Charged in the Investigation:
Hector Rafael Gonzalez Tamayo
- Arrested March 11, 2025
- Charge: Racketeering
Yoan Oriol Gonzalez Solorzano
- Arrested March 11, 2025
- Charge: Racketeering
Felipe Benitez Alonso
- Arrested March 11, 2025
- Charge: Racketeering
Yainier Pinillo Toro
- In custody (Tarrant County, Texas)
- Charge: Racketeering
Maria Beatriz Rodriguez La Rosa
- Arrested March 11, 2025
- Charges: Racketeering, possession of a vehicle with altered numbers
The suspects then resold the stolen cars on the black market, including luxury vehicles such as Cadillac Escalades.
“You meet somebody in the parking lot, and you're going to buy a Rolls-Royce for $35,000 cash—something is going on there,” Uthmeier said.
Investigators said they used artificial intelligence technology and court orders to help solve the case, which spanned much of the state. Authorities are still searching for the sixth suspect, Inti Gomez Alonso.