Prosecutors say a car theft ring uses key fob programmers to steal cars, change their VINs and sell them to make a profit.
A search warrant says police found two key programmers, used by locksmiths to reprogram car keys legally. They also found, "over 15 key fobs,"
Milwaukee police say they responded to 19 car thefts from key fob programmers in the first three months of the year. Court records say Nissan is now the second-most stolen vehicle in the city, and the key programmers are to blame.
Thieves break a window, which is what happened to Tragesser's jeep. Then, they plug a key programmer into the car's on-board diagnostic (OBD) port. The port is located underneath a car's steering wheel near the gas and brake. Once plugged in, anyone can program a new key to the car and take off.
The vehicles stolen most appear to be from about 2007 to 2017, Honda, Nissan, Infiniti, Dodge, Chrysler, Lexus, and Toyota. Those vehicles don't have a wait time to start the vehicle after programming a new key.
Two Cuban nationals are in custody on charges related to the exportation of vehicles stolen from major metropolitan airports, U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced on Thursday.
The feds say they're linked to an organized crime ring that they've been investigating since 2024.
According to the criminal complaint unsealed after their arrests, authorities launched an investigation in 2024 that uncovered a large ring linked to numerous vehicle thefts nationwide. Most of the vehicles were stolen from major metropolitan airports in Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Denver and Fort Lauderdale. Co-conspirators also stole vehicles in Miami and Cincinnati.
As part of the scheme, the ring allegedly used electronic devices to steal the vehicles by cloning key fobs. They added fraudulent license plates and altered vehicle identification numbers before reselling them across the border, according to the charges.
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