Marc H. Silverman, the Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, has announced the sentencing of Ryan Testa from Bristol. U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall sentenced Testa to 30 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. This sentence is a result of Testa's involvement in a multistate identity and vehicle theft scheme that defrauded individuals and businesses out of over $1 million.
Court documents reveal that since September 2020, Tyshon Walker orchestrated a scheme involving stolen personal information from residents across several states. This information was used to apply for loans at dealerships in multiple states, including Connecticut and New Jersey, for luxury vehicles and other items like motorcycles and boats. Once approved using stolen identities, "runners" would pick up these vehicles with fake licenses bearing victims' details but featuring photos of the runners themselves.
In early 2023, Walker along with his wife Stephanie Perez recruited Testa as one such runner. Between March and May 2023, under their direction, Testa acquired at least nine vehicles worth more than $500,000 using stolen identities.
Testa was arrested on May 16, 2023, in Pennsylvania related to an attempted vehicle theft tied to this scheme. He pleaded guilty on February 27, 2024, to conspiracy charges involving wire fraud and bank fraud as well as aggravated identity theft.
Walker and Perez also pleaded guilty to related charges; Perez received a sentence of 14 months imprisonment on March 6, 2025. Walker's sentencing remains pending.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force along with police departments from Bridgeport; Hopkinton (R.I); Westtown – East Goshen Regional (Pa.), and Washington Township (N.J.). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren C. Clark and Heather M. Cherry are prosecuting the case.