Saudi Arabian National Admits Interstate Transportation of Stolen School Bus

NEWARK, N.J. – A Saudi Arabian man admitted transporting a stolen school bus across state lines, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Bader Alzahrani, 24, of Saudi Arabia, pleaded guilty on Aug. 14, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin in Newark federal court to one count of an indictment charging him with interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle.

According to documents filed in this case:

On Jan. 15, 2023, a break-in was reported in an unoccupied residential home in Livingston, New Jersey. During a search of a backpack in that home, law enforcement saw a Saudi Arabian passport with the name Bader Alzahrani, along with other items that appeared to belong to Alzahrani. On Jan. 17, 2023, the Livingston, New Jersey Board of Education reported that a school bus was stolen from a parking lot across the street from the unoccupied residential home where the break-in was reported. During the ensuing investigation, law enforcement located Alzahrani in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. After Alzahrani was taken into custody, law enforcement searched Alzahrani and recovered the keys to the stolen school bus.

The count of possession of a stolen vehicle is punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and carries a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 9, 2024.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI and task force officers of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea. He also thanked special agents of the FBI Field Office in Washington, D.C., under the direction of Assistant Director in Charge David Sunberg; special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker; members of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II; members of the Monroe County, Pennsylvania Office of the District Attorney, under the direction of District Attorney Mike Mancuso; members of the Livingston Police Department, under the direction of Police Chief Gary Marshuetz; and members of the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Levin, Co-Chief of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.