Ventura County and federal investigators say they've broken up what they are calling a massive crime tourism ring, in which people traveled to the U.S. to commit crimes like shoplifting, burglaries, and identity theft.
Prosecutors say the elaborate operation was run out of a Sherman Oaks car rental business. They say Juan Carlos Thola-Duran of Santa Clarita and his girlfriend operated Driver Car Rentals.
Many of the criminals came from South America. Investigators say Thola-Duran would rent vehicles to the crime tourists.
They say he would then buy stolen, or fraudulently obtained items from the criminals for pennies on the dollar, and then resell them. It’s believed the ring started in January of 2018. It was shut down last month.
Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff says they’ve made more than 130 arrests in the county since 2019 in connection with the operation. Rental cars from the business were linked to a number of the thefts in Ventura County.
Investigators say in addition to the thefts, Thola-Duran and others conspired to fraudulently get a quarter of a million dollars in COVID-19 relief funds.
