Nearly two months after Shaquille O’Neal’s new Range Rover made a pit stop near Dahlonega for customizations and then vanished in Atlanta while being transported to the NBA legend, a man linked to a phishing tactic has been charged.
The arrest in New York came after the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office executed 19 search warrants. Anthony Del Rosario, a 33-year-old from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was arrested in Mount Vernon, New York, and will be brought to Georgia to face a charge of theft by deception, Lumpkin Sheriff Stacy Jarrard told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
During the investigation, Jarrard said officials were able to determine that an “unknown” individual used a “phishing tactic” against Firstline Trucking LLC, the towing company arranged to transport O’Neal’s vehicle, and took over their system.
Jarrard clarified that Del Rosario coordinated over the phone for “unknown individuals” to pick up the Range Rover in Atlanta.
The search for the suspect began in mid-October after Jarrard told the AJC that O’Neal called the sheriff’s office to report his 2025 black Range Rover had not made it to him. Customizations had been done at a shop off Seven Mile Hill Road just outside Dahlonega, Jarrard confirmed. After that, he said, O’Neal had no idea where his SUV could have gone.
At that point, the vehicle’s last known location was somewhere in Atlanta. Jarrard said Friday investigators think the vehicle is now overseas.
The Range Rover was purchased from Effortless Motors in California and was being transported from Virginia to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by Firstline Trucking, Jarrard said. It only stopped in Lumpkin for custom work.
“Through acts of deception, the vehicle was stolen during this stage of transport‚” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
O’Neal has a home in Henry County but maintains ties to other states, including Louisiana.
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