Gary Police have charged a Crown Point man with 13 felony counts — including racketeering — for an involved scheme of selling stolen vehicles at a Gary used car lot.
Milan Milos Djuric, 24, was charged with one count of corrupt business influence, a Level 5 felony; eight counts of Level 6 felony fraud; three counts of Level 6 felony forgery, and one count of Level 6 felony auto theft.
An officer with the Suffolk County, New York Police Department last month reached out to Gary regarding some vehicle identification number inspections officers conducted in December, according to a probable cause affidavit. The Suffolk County officer said he was part of a Fraud Task Force, and they believed a business in Gary had filed fraudulent mechanical liens and “washed” the titles on eight vehicles in their possession.
Gary officers discovered 50 Star Transport and USA Service and Towing, 6800 W. 9th Ave., had requested the VIN checks in late December, court records state. The vehicle checks came back without any wants or holds, though only two of the eight checks were recorded on body cameras.
A Gary officer reviewing the VIN paperwork noticed the handwriting didn’t match the officer conducting the check’s handwriting, and a Djuric, who runs 50 Star and USA Service and Towing with Petar Djuric, was the person who contacted Gary, records state. The New York officer then told Gary that a man from New York was supposed to, at Djuric’s behest, drive a 2022 Infiniti Q50 to Midway Airport from New York City. The drop-off point was later changed to the Indianapolis International Airport and the car was seen via license-plate reader cameras on June 9 near 50 Star in Gary.
Around 11:30 a.m. on June 10, the Gary officer discovered the Infiniti at 50 Star, and when officers approached the vehicle, Djuric came out of the building, the affidavit states. He told officers that the vehicle was his and he was “just driving it,” but when he had someone in the business show the officers its title, they told him they knew the vehicle was stolen and the Indiana title was fraudulent.
Djuric was arrested without incident and is being held on a $50,000 bond, records state.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
