Businessman Accused of Luxury Car-Theft Scam : Prosecution: Federal agents arrest the Huntington Beach man on charges of falsely reporting two autos stolen, defrauding insurer.

Federal agents arrested a Huntington Beach businessman suspected of falsely reporting that two of his luxury cars were stolen and conspiring with an Oregon man to defraud an insurance company of more than $43,000, authorities said Wednesday.

FBI agents and police arrested Merle E. Cade, 56, on Tuesday at the Hoosier Shell Service and Towing station he operates at Golden West Street and Warner Avenue.

Cade, who also owns an auto repair service and several residential and commercial properties around the city, reported that his 1976 Mercedes-Benz 450SL was stolen in 1989 and that his 1989 Jaguar XJS-12 was taken in 1992, according to a federal indictment issued in Portland in June.

Federal prosecutor John F. Deits said Cade conspired with Ovidiu (Ovie) Muntean, 28, of Portland to strip one of the cars and sell the other one. Afterward, Cade reported to Allstate Insurance Co. and to police that his cars, both insured for theft, were stolen, Diets said.

Cade was released Tuesday from custody after posting a $10,000 bond.

Federal prosecutors said it was unclear how Cade, a member of the city’s Fourth of July Executive Board and the Chamber of Commerce, met Muntean or what happened to the insurance money.

Muntean was arrested in December by FBI agents in Portland as part of an investigation into auto theft launched there last year. Muntean was “a prominent player in the stolen car market” in that Oregon city, Deits said.

Authorities said they arrested Muntean after he sold a car to an undercover federal agent. Muntean is awaiting trial Sept. 7 and has been charged with 13 federal violations, including conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, interstate transportation of stolen vehicles, selling a car with the identification number altered and money laundering, Diets said.

Cade, charged with conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud, is scheduled for arraignment Aug. 25 in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, federal prosecutors said.