Corona, CA: 2 men accused in multimillion-dollar car theft ring

Two men were in custody Thursday in connection with what authorities called a complex, multimillion-dollar car theft ring.

Kirsio Cruz, 46, of Norco and Luis Marroquin, 64, of Huntington Park were taken into custody by the California Highway Patrol and the Department of Motor Vehicles after a lengthy investigation. The two are accused of taking 26 cars valued at least $1.2 million by using fake documents to remove the actual lien holders from the vehicles' titles, California Highway Patrol Officer Daniel Hesser said.

The men are alleged to have conspired to remove the lien holders using fraudulent notary stamps, fraudulent CHP stamps and fraudulent DMV stamps.

They were arrested at King City Auto Sales in Los Angeles. Investigators also served a search warrant at an unlicensed registration service in Los Angeles, where additional evidence of fraudulent activity was found, authorities said.

The state attorney general’s office filed multiple charges in Los Angeles County Superior Court against the men. CHP officials said the investigation is ongoing.