Riverside County man arrested in million-dollar luxury car theft scheme
A man from Riverside County has been arrested and charged with 18 felonies in connection with a theft scheme involving multiple luxury cars.
According to a release from the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, owners of several high-end vehicles contacted the Riverside Auto-Theft Interdiction Detail (RAID) after they were unable to report their cars as stolen.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect, identified by authorities as Kendall Clark, 25, of Murrieta, would fill out paperwork and pay for a one-week rental from a car owner in Lake Mathews but would not return the vehicles.
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“The cars were later located at dealerships around the country with titles that had been forged or ‘washed’ by Clark to indicate a change of ownership,” the DA’s office said. “The total value of the cars is more than $1 million.”
The vehicles, which were all returned to their respective owners, included:
A 2022 Chevrolet Corvette
A 2015 Lamborghini Huracán
A 2021 Jeep Wrangler
A 2021 Porsche Cayenne
A 2017 BMW i8
A 2020 Lamborghini Urus
Clark, who is being held on $250,000 bail, pleaded not guilty to all charges during his Oct. 20 arraignment.
He is scheduled for a felony settlement conference on Monday.
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Clark may also be linked to additional crimes, the DA’s office said. Anyone with information related to the investigation should contact Detective Matt Guzzino of the RAID task force at 951-290-1923.
RAID is a task force comprised of detectives from Riverside County law enforcement agencies that collaborate with the District Attorney’s Office to investigate and prosecute organized vehicle and vehicle-related theft, including theft rings, chop shops, title washing operations and VIN switching schemes.
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