Today, five men were convicted for their roles in a conspiracy to transport over $2 million worth of stolen perfume products out of New Jersey to Florida, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Federal officials said Carlos Duvergel, 57, of Texas, and Juan Crespo, 45, Felix Castillo, 49, Asnay Fernandez, 31, and Ismael Manzano-Suarez, 24, all of Hialeah, Florida, were charged by superseding indictment with conspiring to transport stolen property in interstate commerce and transportations of stolen property in interstate commerce.
They were convicted following an eight-day trial before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In November 2017, the defendants broke into a warehouse storing perfume products in Edison and drove away with two tractor-trailers filled with stolen perfume products.
The value of the stolen perfume products is estimated to be over $2 million.
The defendants were arrested in May 2018, attempting to break into another perfume warehouse in East Brunswick.
The count of conspiring to transport stolen property in interstate commerce carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison; the count of transportations of stolen property in interstate commerce carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Both charges also carry a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offenses, whichever is greatest.
Sentencing for all five defendants is scheduled for September 27, 2022.