From September 2021, until September 2022, Detective Soares led an intensive criminal investigation into an auto theft network who were involved in the theft and fencing of high-end motor vehicles, burglary, altering of vehicle identification numbers, fraud involving COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program relief, mail theft, bank fraud, and other crimes. 
Beginning in September 2021, Detective Soares was alerted to a monitor social media account of a known thief who was sharing images and videos of a newer model Cadillac Escalade that was in the upper level of a flooded parking garage in Bloomfield, New Jersey.  MVCNU members were actively attempting to locate a stolen 2022 Cadillac Escalade ($104,193) from a dealership in Woodbridge, New Jersey, and believed the vehicle observed on social media was the same one.  Detective Soares canvassed the parking garage in Bloomfield and located a newer model Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk ($89,063) and a Dodge Charger SRT ($85,829).  Detective Soares relied on his training and experience in auto theft and vehicle identification and was able to determine the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and Dodge Charger SRT were in fact stolen vehicles with altered VINs.  Detective Soares then found a stolen Dodge Challenger Hellcat ($107,000) in the same location several days later.  Detective Soares installed signal monitoring and tracking devices on all three vehicles and obtained court authorization to monitor the stolen vehicles’ movements.  
While investigating the theft of these vehicles, Detective Soares was able to determine that they were all missing a key fob when they were delivered to their respective dealerships in the region.  Dealership personnel didn’t know that the missing key fobs were suspicious and just coded a second key fob for the vehicles.  Shortly after the vehicles were sold to unsuspecting buyers, the vehicles were stolen from their residences and there were no signs of forced entry and the owners were able to account for all of their key fobs.  Detective Soares quickly evaluated the theft method and surmised that the missing keys were not a coincidence and the theft crew fabricated a new scheme to steal these vehicles.  Detective Soares worked with the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retails and broadcasted an alert to every new car dealership employee in New Jersey asking them to contact MVCNU members if these types of vehicles were delivered with only one key.  Detective Soares’ outreach to the New Jersey vehicle dealer network effectuated change to their security protocol and undoubtedly prevented the theft of an untold number of vehicles.  
In November 2021, Detective Soares observed that the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk was traveling southbound on the New Jersey Turnpike and that the signal monitoring and tracking device on the vehicle was not reporting an accurate position.  The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk traveled to Baltimore, Maryland.  Detective Soares, who has worked closely with the Baltimore County Regional Auto Theft Task Force in the past, was able to coordinate the arrest of a suspect who was in possession of the stolen Jeep in Baltimore, Maryland.  A military grade signal jammer was found in the Jeep which prevented the signal monitoring and tracking device from providing an exact position.  The Dodge Charger Hellcat was later recovered while enroute to St. Louis, Missouri, and the Dodge Challenger was recovered in New Jersey.  Detective Soares worked closely with Special Agents from the FBI who were seeing a similar theft pattern in Long Island, New York, and identified the use of Apple Inc., AirTags that were concealed within the stolen vehicles.  It’s not often that a new auto theft method is developed and implemented by theft crews. It’s even rarer that a detective would be able to evaluate these theft instances and think through possible scenarios in which the new theft method could function, as Detective Soares was able to accomplish. 
Detective Soares authored an article, “AirTags: Integration by Theft Crews, How to Find Them, Investigative Value,” that was published in the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators ‘Vehicle Crimes Today’ and ‘APB.”  In the article, Detective Soares outlines the emerging trend of AirTag use to track vehicles, the way investigators can detect and locate AirTags, and the tremendous amount of information available to investigators from legal process served to Apple Inc.  Detective Soares’ article has been shared throughout the law enforcement community as a valuable resource related to the nefarious use of AirTags by criminals.
Detective Soares then analyzed an infotainment download obtained from the Dodge Charger SRT.  The infotainment download spurned several subpoenas for information related to unidentified targets who connected mobile devices to the vehicle while it was reported stolen.  The information returned from the subpoenas was instrumental in identifying major targets in the conspiracy and opening the door to more advanced investigative resources, specifically, communications data warrants to Apple Inc., requesting iCloud data for those targets. Detective Soares then painstakingly analyzed hundreds of gigabytes of information returned from those warrants and further exploited the criminal enterprise. One of the big developments came when Detective Soares identified the main target accessed two iCloud accounts using the same iPhone.  Included within the download of information was location information and shared information about the use of AirTags within the theft network to locate and steal vehicles with a key fob that was taken from the new vehicle storage lots throughout the Northeast.    
In January 2022, Cadillac of Mahwah management contacted MVCNU members and advised that they received delivery of a 2022 Cadillac Escalade ($150,000) that only had one operational key fob.  MVCNU members traveled to Cadillac of Mahwah and located a suspect AirTag within the vehicle.  Detective Soares’ investigative plan included convincing dealership ownership to allow MVCNU members to use the 2022 Cadillac Escalade as a “bait” car.  With permission from the dealership, the 2022 Cadillac Escalade was outfitted with a covert law enforcement surveillance camera, signal monitoring and tracking devices, and the ignition was disabled to prevent the vehicle from driving.  Detective Soares then had the vehicle towed to a residential parking lot in Hunterdon County and deployed a covert automated license plate reader to capture license plates of vehicles entering the area.  MVCNU members initiated constant physical surveillance in the area of the 2022 Cadillac Escalade and identified a suspect vehicle as it traveled to Hunterdon County and attempted to steal the 2022 Cadillac Escalade before fleeing from the area.  This successful operation helped to identify the targets involved in this ground breaking theft motive.  
Detective Soares was also able to identify that the main target of his investigation was deeply involved in falsifying auto loans to obtain new vehicles from dealerships while routing proceeds through shell companies.  The main target also used these shell companies to fraudulently obtain COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program relief.  
In May 2022, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office authorized charges for the main target which included Promoting Street Crimes, a first degree crime, Leader of an Auto Theft Network, a second degree crime, Receiving Stolen Property, a second degree crime, stalking, a fourth degree crime, and other crimes.  Seven other targets were also identified and charged for their involvement in this expansive criminal investigation.   Detective Soares was able to identify approximately 120 stolen motor vehicles that were tied to this criminal organization with an approximate value of $8 million.
It is clear that Detective Ross Soares should be recognized for his efforts and investigative excellence.  This year-long investigation wouldn’t have been a success without Detective Soares’ investigative techniques, case management, training, experience, ingenuity, and tremendous determination.