The person at the center of this case
Multiple car dealership owners (8 victims across 5 states)
Cold Case · Open
4 years waiting · since 2021
ISMAIL SHALASH
Justice for Multiple car dealership owners (8 victims across 5 states) — the trail went cold in 2021, but the truth hasn't.
Start here
Key leads to think about
🎯
suspect
Lead #1Shalash used alias 'Armand Brigante' of MDDI Inc. to pose as separate individuals—what other aliases or business entities may be connected to this scheme?
🔍
evidence
Lead #2At least 8 victims defrauded across 5 states for $3.4 million—are there additional unreported victims or related fraudulent transactions?
📍
location
Lead #3Known ties to Cincinnati, Ohio with dual citizenship in Jordan and Palestine—where is Shalash likely hiding given his international connections?
Ismail Shalash is wanted for an elaborate wire fraud and money laundering scheme in which he sold luxury vehicles to car dealerships across multiple states, collected millions in payments, and never delivered the vehicles or provided refunds. Operating under his own name and the alias 'Armand Brigante' of MDDI Inc., Shalash defrauded at least 8 victims across 5 states for approximately $3.4 million between 2021 and his indictment. A federal arrest warrant was issued on September 30, 2021, by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, and Shalash remains at large with known ties to Cincinnati, Ohio and dual citizenship in Jordan and Palestine.
Case
#1003
United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio; Federal Bureau of Investigation
Try asking
Claim this imported case
A one-time $10 claim transfers this imported case workspace to your account. You get 10 uploads for this case, 25 daily AI questions for this case, and public tips with files route to you.
10 uploads25 AI questions/day
This does not start a subscription. When the included limits are reached, the Personal plan unlocks more workspace capacity.
More leads to consider
Beyond the top three above — each detail below could be the thread that pulls this case open.
🚗
vehicle
Lead #4The scheme involved selling luxury vehicles that were never delivered—can vehicle titles, shipping records, or dealership communications be traced to identify additional evidence?
📞
contact
Lead #5Victims aggressively attempted to contact Shalash without remedy—what communication methods, phone numbers, email addresses, or financial accounts are associated with him?
Have information about any of these leads?
Even the smallest detail could be the key to solving this case.
Official wording
Source Narrative
Wire Fraud and Laundering of Money Instruments Caution: Ismail Shalash is wanted for his alleged role in money laundering. Shalash would sell luxury vehicles online to owners of privately owned car dealerships in various states and never produce the promised product upon receipt of payment.
Shalash would at times use the alias of “Armand Brigante” of MDDI Inc. to deceive victims into believing that Shalash and “Armand Brigante” were two separate individuals.
Shalash would then allegedly sell vehicles to car dealerships with the promise that the vehicle would be delivered. In most instances and when the victims believed an unreasonable amount of time passed for the purchased vehicles to be delivered, victims would aggressively try to contact Shalash to no avail or without remedy.
Ultimately, the vehicles were never delivered and the victims received no refund. Shalash attempted to allegedly defraud 8 victims in 5 different states for a total amount of approximately 3.4 million dollars.
Shalash allegedly defrauded 5 different victims in 4 different states for the approximate amount of 1.7 million dollars. On September 30, 2021, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Shalash after he was charged with wire fraud and laundering of money instruments by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
Remarks: Shalash has dual citizenship with Jordan and Palestine. He also has ties to Cincinnati, Ohio.
Timeline of Events
🕵️
2021-09-30
Federal arrest warrant issued
Ismail Shalash charged with wire fraud and laundering of money instruments by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
Key Locations
Interactive map showing important locations related to this case
Case Information
Incident:September 30, 2021
Last Updated:June 14, 2026
Leave a comment
Comments
Case Information
Incident:September 30, 2021
Last Updated:June 14, 2026