Man pleads guilty to stealing $1 million in equipment from rental companies in US, metro Atlanta

ATLANTA — A 32-year-old man from New York has pleaded to guilty to stealing more than $1 million in high-end audiovisual equipment from numerous rental companies, including two in metro Atlanta.

Christopher Marquis Windsor, 32, is awaiting sentencing after he pleaded guilty in April to federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and interstate transportation of stolen goods.

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The plea deal between Windsor and federal prosecutors stated that Windsor and other unindicted co-conspirators established bank accounts using fake names and email addresses to steal $1,085,651.84 worth of rental equipment from victims across the US, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.

There was also reported stolen equipment in Washington D.C.

The signed plea agreement obtained by Channel 2′s Michael Seiden stated that Windsor will have to pay restitution to his victims. Although a date hasn’t been set yet for sentencing, Windsor is expected to learn his fate later this year.

Investigators say the criminal operation lasted from November 2017 to October 2022.

Authorities believe Windsor and his crew posed as customers and then sold the rental equipment online for a big profit. 

In 2023, Channel 2 Action News learned that Windsor had been arrested for ripping off two metro Atlanta companies, including Music Matters in Peachtree Corners.

Channel 2 Action News also spoke with a victim in Las Vegas.

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“By the time that they hit us, I found like 12 other companies that they had hit,” said Forrest Grosz, who is the owner of Grosz Live Productions. “There’s no doubt in my mind that it’s all the same people.”

Grosz shared surveillance video and photos that show the thieves after they used fake IDs and stolen credit cards to rent more than $60,000 in equipment for a live-streaming event in 2020.

Days later, Grosz would find his stolen items listed for sale on eBay, but when he tried to get help from the police.

“It was sad, because every time I’d find them, three different states, the ball would be dropped,” Groz said.

Windsor is expected to remain in federal custody until his sentencing later this year.

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