The State Attorney’s Office filed an indictment Wednesday against Tarek al-Abid, 31, of Kuseife, accusing him of selling stolen vehicles while presenting them as legitimate, then stealing them back and transferring them to areas under Palestinian Authority control.
The indictment charges him with aggravated fraud, impersonation, aggravated use of a forged document, vehicle theft, forgery of a vehicle-related document, altering a vehicle’s identity and trafficking in stolen vehicles.
Sold a Toyota Corolla for 78,500 shekels, then sent someone else to steal it
According to the indictment, filed with the Be'er Sheva District Court by attorney Giora Hazan of the Southern District Prosecutor’s Office, al-Abid obtained stolen vehicles, located identical vehicles being offered for sale, carried out fraudulent ownership transfers of the legitimate vehicles using forged documents and impersonation, altered the identifying details of the stolen vehicles to match those of the legitimate ones and then sold them to third parties.
After completing the sale, prosecutors allege, al-Abid arranged for the sold vehicle to be stolen and transferred to Palestinian Authority territory in an effort to make an additional profit and prevent the fraud from being discovered.
According to the first count, al-Abid forged or obtained a fake identity card bearing another person’s details but his own photograph. Using it along with additional forged documents, he allegedly carried out a fraudulent ownership transfer of a Toyota Corolla that had been advertised for sale on an online marketplace.
He then allegedly altered the identifying details of a stolen vehicle so they matched those of the original car, advertised it for sale on Facebook, presented himself as its lawful owner and sold it to two brothers from Lod for 78,500 shekels in cash.
Later, according to the indictment, he sent another person to steal the vehicle using a GPS tracking device that had been installed in it in advance and transfer it to Palestinian Authority territory. The vehicle was located at the Meitar checkpoint.
According to the second count, al-Abid allegedly used the same method involving a Jeep Wrangler. Prosecutors say he fraudulently transferred ownership of the vehicle from its owner to another person, and later into his own name, without the owner’s knowledge or consent.
The plan was not completed after the lawful owner discovered the ownership transfer and filed a police complaint.