A woman accused of being part of a tri-state auto theft ring that allegedly stole $2.4 million worth of vehicles is now facing charges in Bergen County, authorities said.
Tiffany Odessa Kyte, 37, a Guyanese national whose last known address was in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was extradited to Connecticut last month following her arrest in Warren County, according to law enforcement sources. She was released there on $275,000 bail before surrendering Tuesday to Upper Saddle River police.
Detective Jake Chiavelli said Kyte was wanted in connection with the theft of a late-model Range Rover from Jack Daniels Audi on Route 17 last April 24. Investigators allege Kyte swapped a dummy key fob for the vehicle’s real one while at the dealership. Two days later, the lot was broken into and the SUV was stolen.
Authorities in Connecticut say the same tactic was used at least 20 times across New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.
Police in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, announced last month that they had identified a pattern of high-end vehicle thefts dating back to March 2024 in five Connecticut towns and elsewhere in the region.
According to investigators, Kyte — also known as Tiffane Kyte — and an unidentified man posing as a UPS employee named “Dexter” would visit dealerships pretending to be customers interested in test drives. While Kyte distracted sales staff, her alleged accomplice either plugged a handheld device into the vehicle’s diagnostic port to clone the key fob or swapped it with a dummy.
The targeted vehicle would then be stolen, sometimes as soon as the following day.
Chiavelli credited Old Saybrook police with providing critical evidence that led to the charges in Upper Saddle River.
Following her surrender, Kyte was booked into the Bergen County Jail before being transferred to the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny, which houses female inmates. She remained in custody as additional charges from multiple jurisdictions continued to be filed.
