Police arrest chop shop operator in Cranston

June 23, 2016 4:56 pm

By News Staff

news@abc6.com

A Woonsocket man was arrested after police say they found him fraudulently facilitating the sale of stolen vehicles.

39-year-old Elie Antoun is facing multiple charges after an extensive investigation by Cranston Police. They say he was running an illegal car dealership operation.

The investigation began when officers pulled over a driver who bought their vehicle from Antoun, which turned out to be stolen.

Police were led to Antoun’s garage on Field Street, where they then monitored the operation for two weeks.

Police say Antoun was also swapping high-mileage odometers for lower-mileage ones to charge a higher price for the vehicle, and providing counterfeit temporary registrations for vehicles he had sold.

Antoun was charged with 2 counts of obtaining money under false pretenses, forgery and counterfeiting of registration plates, tampering with odometers, operation of a chop shop, and possession of stolen motor vehicle parts.

The Cranston Police Department is asking anyone that may have purchased a vehicle from Antoun to contact Officer Michael Long immediately. He may be reached at 401-942-2211 or by email at mlong@cranstonpoliceri.com.