Man will spend 11 years in state prison for $400K So. California auto theft crime spree

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced the guilty plea and sentencing of Jean Parret, who carried out an extensive identity theft and grand theft scheme across several Southern California counties.

Parret used victims’ stolen identities to open lines of credit and purchase numerous high-end vehicles from car dealerships, resulting in losses of over $400,000.

Parret will serve a total of 11 years in state prison.

The California Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Special Prosecutions Section prosecuted the case, in partnership with multiple agencies across Southern California.

“We won’t stand idly by when bad actors prey on businesses and innocent people to enrich themselves,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Today’s sentence should serve as a reminder: If you break the law and engage in fraud or theft, my office will hold you accountable. I want to thank DOJ’s hardworking attorneys, as well as our partners in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties, for coming together to make sure justice is served today.”

“These are not victimless crimes,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “Becoming the victim of identity theft can have profound consequences that can take years if not decades to overcome, including having credit histories ruined and losing the ability to qualify for employment opportunities and housing as a result of financial predators. Working in conjunction with the Attorney General and our other partners, we ensured the defendant was held fully accountable for the financial harm he caused our community and safeguarded the residents of California from his criminal schemes.”

“The defendant’s pattern of stealing identities to purchase high end cars was part of a criminal operation that was stopped in its tracks,” said San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan. “Through the collaborative work of San Diego Deputy DA Matthew Dix, the San Diego Regional Auto Theft Task Force, the Attorney General’s Office and numerous law enforcement partners, Jean Parret has been brought to justice.”

“The case involving Jean Parret is an example of and illustrates how important the Taskforce for Regional Auto-Theft Prevention (TRAP) model is in bringing the weight of law enforcement partnerships to bear in the pursuit of prolific criminals and criminal organizations,” said TRAP Project Director Captain Martin L. Rodriguez. “Experienced detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) and the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) worked in unison with the California Department of Justice, Attorney General’s Office on a protracted and complex investigation, ultimately identifying, investigating, and charging Parret with a slew of crimes that brought a halt to his influence over a high-dollar crime spree, spanning multiple Southern California Counties. We are optimistic his conviction will bring a sense of peace to his many victims.”

Parret carried out his crime spree between November 2021 and February 2022, defrauding dealerships and financial lenders in Orange, Los Angeles, Kern, and Riverside counties. His victims included not only the lenders and dealerships who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but also the identity theft victims who were left dealing with the financial, legal, and emotional impacts of having their identity stolen and their credit damaged.

Parret’s guilty plea and sentencing is the result of an investigation led by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Taskforce for Regional Auto-Theft