Suffolk Half‑Brothers Admit Role in Massive Car‑Theft and Title‑Washing Scheme

Two half‑brothers, Mark McCall, 34, of Centereach, and Keith Agard, 32, of Port Jefferson Station, finally faced the music after a two‑and‑a‑half‑year investigation that rattled Suffolk County’s auto‑sales world.

Their guilty pleas mark the latest chapter in what prosecutors call Operation Gingerman, a sprawling crackdown that resulted in 34 people – plus two corporations – being indicted last June. In total, the case involved the fraudulent financing of more than 120 vehicles across Suffolk, Nassau, Kings, Westchester and Orange counties.

According to District Attorney Ray Tierney, McCall and Agard ran a “title‑washing” enterprise. They would have accomplices pose as legitimate buyers, hand over forged pay‑stubs or utility bills, and walk away with a financed car that carried a hidden lien. The vehicles were then handed to the half‑brothers, who stripped away the lien by obtaining a clean New York title – often through shady paperwork – and sold the cars to unsuspecting buyers on platforms like Facebook Marketplace, or to lot operators such as CarMax.

When the scheme finally collapsed, prosecutors estimated the ring pocketed about $5.5 million. The fallout was swift: search warrants executed in June 2025 uncovered firearms at both men’s homes, including a .45‑caliber derringer and a .40‑caliber semi‑automatic pistol.

McCall entered a plea last Thursday to two counts of second‑degree attempted criminal possession of a weapon and attempted enterprise corruption. He is slated to appear in court on Oct. 29, facing a likely five‑year prison term for the gun charges and an additional three‑and‑a‑half to seven years for the corruption count, to run concurrently. Agard, who had already pleaded guilty to two third‑degree weapon counts and enterprise corruption, is serving a sentence of one to three years handed down in June.

Tierney summed up the case, saying, “These defendants went to great lengths to fleece buyers, giving them vehicles with hidden liens and pocketing their hard‑earned money.” The DA’s office stressed that while 32 other defendants have already received sentences ranging from six months to three years, one case remains pending.

At its core, the operation was a classic grand‑larceny scheme dressed up in legal jargon. As Agard’s attorney Tara Laterza put it, “enterprise corruption” sounds ominous, but the heart of the crime was simply stealing cars and selling them under false titles.