Car Broker Accused of $25-Million Plot to Steal 1,500 Autos

An Agoura Hills woman was indicted Friday by a federal grand jury on charges that she masterminded a $25.5-million scheme to steal 1,500 new cars from dealerships across the country.

Mary Elizabeth Houck, 40, is charged with 13 felony counts of fraud by wire, the indictment said. The maximum penalty for each charge is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, Assistant U. S. Atty. Ellyn Lindsay said.

Houck, the owner of First Preference Leasing in Canoga Park, is accused of arranging to steal the cars by first leasing them from dealerships in the name of other car-leasing firms, court records said.

FBI Agents Pose as Buyers

The scheme was uncovered by FBI agents posing as buyers of stolen cars, court records said. In tape-recorded conversations with an FBI agent, Houck agreed to arrange the theft of 1,500 cars over four to six weeks in exchange for $7.4 million, the records said. The cars would have been worth an estimated $25.5 million.

In telephone conversations with three East Coast car dealerships last month, Houck posed as an employee of other car-leasing companies, court records showed. Car dealerships routinely allow car-leasing firms to pick up cars ordered by telephone and then bill the leasing companies by mail, court records said.

Houck ordered 12 cars from those dealerships in the name of other car-leasing companies, court records said. Undercover FBI agents picked up one of the cars at a Maryland dealership through her arrangements, the records said.

Houck believed her plan would work because, the indictment said, “there would be no exchange of paper work or payment between the leasing firm and dealership for some time after the actual delivery of the automobiles.” It would only be several days or weeks after the dealership failed to receive payment that the thefts would be discovered, court records said.

In addition, Houck told undercover FBI agents that she planned to train workers to find jobs at several large car-leasing agencies. Those workers, when leasing many cars for corporate clients, would order extra cars to be turned over to Houck, court records said.

Houck remains free on $7,500 bail set after her arrest on one count of wire fraud July 31 by FBI agents at a Thousand Oaks hotel where she allegedly arranged several of the fraudulent leases, court records said. Authorities were told of the scheme by an informant, according to the records.

Houck is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 24. She could not be reached for comment.