newjerseynewsroom.com

An Essex County man was sentenced to six years in state prison Wednesday for his role as a leader of a multi-county automobile theft ring.

Ibn Y. Traynham, 34, of Orange, was sentenced by state Superior Court Judge Michael A. Petrolle in Newark, according to state Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Riza Dagli.

The sentence is based on Traynham's Sept. 22 guilty plea to an accusation which charged him with leading an auto theft trafficking network, a second-degree crime.

In pleading guilty, Traynham admitted that between April 15, 2006 and April 22, he conspired with others as an organizer, supervisor and financier in a scheme to unlawfully distribute, transport and bring into New Jersey stolen, high-end automobiles.

The plea was part of an ongoing investigation into thefts of high-end automobiles from Port Authority of New York & New Jersey new car holding lots. The Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor arrested Traynham in April in an undercover operation.

Traynham attempted to purchase a 2010 BMW 650I, valued at approximately $90,000, which he believed had been stolen from the Port Authority lot and which he intended to resell.

Further investigation revealed that Traynham was an individual previously known only by the nickname "T." Traynham admitted to being a leader of an automobile theft ring that had sold stolen vehicles to an undercover detective in a 2006 undercover operation. He had eluded arrest and could not be identified by name at the time.

The 2006 investigation determined that Traynham had sold stolen cars, including a 2005 Infiniti FX valued at $31,770, a 2004 BMW M5 valued at $41,270, a 2006 Audi A3 valued at $22,640, and a 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche valued at $15,000.

Detectives Jarek Pyrzanowski and Amy Carson and former Deputy Attorney General John J. Higgins handled the investigation. They were assisted by Detective Wendy Berg. Deputy Attorney General Nicole Rizzolo prosecuted the case.

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJEREYNEWSROOM.COM