AUSTIN (KXAN) — A prolific profiteer of illegal Texas paper license plates has been sentenced to five years in federal prison and ordered to pay $22 million to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
As part of a multimillion-dollar fraud operation, Emmanuel Reyes, 35, pleaded guilty in May to selling over 550,000 paper tags online and through messaging apps, allowing buyers in Texas and across the country to turn vehicles into untraceable “ghost cars.”
“The defendant’s criminal scheme was not only illegal in itself, but also facilitated scores of other crimes, such as armed robberies and drive-by shootings,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei. “Texas motorists deserve to know vehicles on the roadways alongside them and their families are genuinely licensed, rather than the instruments of crime.”
The court heard testimony from New Braunfels mom, Tawny Solbrig, whose son, Terrin, was killed in a car crash in 2020. The driver had plates obtained from a bogus auto dealership Reyes claimed to operate.
Central Texas Deputy David Kohler told KXAN Reyes was “towards the very top of the people involved in this very well-organized criminal enterprise” and was happy to see “justice for the Solbrig family.”
Reyes was able to use aliases and a stolen identity to obtain licenses for two bogus auto dealerships, “King’s Ranch Autoland” and “Texas Motor Company.”
“They had no car lots, they didn’t sell cars, they never existed,” said Kohler. “Except on paper.”
Reyes, who was not in the country legally, is expected to be deported following his sentence, officials said. Leidy Areli Hernandez Lopez, 45, Octavian Ocasio, 53 and Daniel Christine-Tani, 36 were also charged and convicted in connection with the scheme. Lopez, who was also in the country illegally, failed to report to prison and is considered a fugitive, officials said.
“This case led not only to arrests and prison sentences for those behind a national multimillion-dollar scheme, but it also led to changes in the way temporary tags are issued in Texas. Changes that just went into effect July 1,” said Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams of the FBI Houston Field Office. “That’s impactful, and I’m so proud of our law enforcement partners and the FBI Houston case team who made it all happen.”
KXAN has investigated illegal paper tags for years. This month, a law passed in 2023 went into effect, swapping temporary tags for color-coded metal ones.
Temporary tags issued as of June 30 are still valid for up to 60 days. The TxDMV said they will remain valid until they expire on August 29. After that, there shouldn’t be any on the road except in limited circumstances.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation into Reyes and his co-defendants with assistance from the Travis County Constable’s Office Precinct 3, Houston Police, Texas Department of Public Safety, Harris County Sherriff’s Office, New York State Police and the New York Police Department.