Thirty-four defendants have pleaded guilty for their roles in a sprawling vehicle theft and title-washing operation that prosecutors said used fraudulent documents to obtain more than 120 vehicles and generated about $5.5 million in profit.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office announced the pleas Monday in connection with Operation “Gingerbread Man,” a nearly two-and-a-half-year investigation that led to the June 2025 indictment of 33 people and two corporations.
Prosecutors identified half-brothers Mark McCall, 34, of Centereach, and Keith Agard, 32, of Port Jefferson Station, as the leaders of the operation, which ran from 2022 through 2025.
According to prosecutors and admissions made during guilty plea proceedings, the group recruited more than 20 people to obtain vehicles from dealerships using forged documents, including pay stubs and utility bills.
The vehicles were typically financed with little or no money down, then turned over to McCall, Agard or other members of the operation. Prosecutors said few, if any, payments were made on the loans.
The group then fraudulently obtained clean New York titles that did not show liens held by finance companies, prosecutors said. The vehicles were resold through outlets including CarMax and Facebook Marketplace, as well as through other methods.
Many buyers did not know the vehicles had outstanding liens or fraudulent titles, according to the district attorney’s office.
In all, prosecutors said the network purchased and resold more than 120 vehicles from dealerships in Suffolk, Nassau, Kings, Westchester and Orange counties, generating approximately $5.5 million in profit.
McCall pleaded guilty Sept. 10 to two counts of attempted second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and attempted enterprise corruption. He is expected to receive five years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision on the weapon charges and 3½ to seven years for enterprise corruption, with the sentences running concurrently.
He is scheduled to return to court Oct. 29.
Agard previously pleaded guilty to weapon possession and enterprise corruption charges and was sentenced June 3 to one to three years in prison.
Prosecutors said 32 additional defendants previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the operation, with most receiving sentences ranging from six months to three years. One case remains pending.
Search warrants executed at McCall’s and Agard’s homes in June 2025 also resulted in the recovery of firearms, according to prosecutors.
“These defendants went to great lengths to fleece buyers, giving them vehicles with hidden liens and pocketing their hard-earned money,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said.
The cases are being prosecuted by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Financial Crimes Bureau. The investigation was conducted by the Suffolk County Police Department’s District Attorney Squad.
Photo: SCDA
