DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — An accused meth dealer from Queens used a stolen identity to buy a car worth nearly a quarter of a million dollars from a Midwood auto dealer and drive it off the lot the day before his birthday, according to prosecutors.
Authorities used facial recognition software to identify Brian White, 45, of Flushing, after he used another man’s social security number to drop $240,000 on a 2017 Acura NSX in March, prosecutors said.
The identity theft victim found out about the purchase a few weeks later when he received paperwork in the mail about it, and contacted the dealership, Plaza Auto Mall, which notified the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, prosecutors said.
Local authorities teamed up with the FBI and federal prosecutors to identify White, and managed to nab him after running a surveillance photo of him from the dealership through the facial recognition system, according to acting Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez.
White, who goes by the alias Felipe Segundo, and his associates, were busted in April and charged with dealing methamphetamine, according to a federal complaint.
White, who was arrested again in August for the identity theft, appeared in court for an arraignment Monday morning, hands cuffed behind his back, as family members sat in the courtroom.
He pleaded not guilty to 17 counts of grand larceny and identity theft stemming from his purchase on March 22 of the vehicle, a low-slung speedster described by the manufacturer as a “supercar.” White used a forged driver’s license, along with the identity-theft victim’s social security number, insurance documents, and credit information to buy the car, according to a criminal complaint.
At court on Monday prosecutors offered a plea deal that would have allowed White to serve two to six years in jail in exchange for pleading guilty to second-degree grand larceny and identity theft, but White and his attorney, Mahmoud Rabah, rejected the deal.
“I am confident his innocence will prevail,” Rabah said after the hearing. White was ordered held on $300,000 bail or $150,000 bond, and is due back in court Nov. 1.