Ryan Levon Roman was already on probation for previous thefts within Los Angeles County and was out of compliance with his terms of probation as of August 2024. On February 28, 2025, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed one count of Grand Theft, a felony, against Roman. This, combined with the numerous theft victims who have come forward since his arrest by Burbank police, means that Ryan Roman may finally face some serious jail time.
The news spread quickly among the PERG rental community, all of whom know his name. Over the past two years rental companies and private equipment owners have generated eighteen theft reports and Questionable Customer alerts with Roman’s name in them in RENTAL GUARD. When the Burbank police put the word out that they were looking for other companies with similar cases against Roman, PERG responded with the data we’ve collected. Captain Mark Stohl was one of the police officers who attended the PERG Town Hall several years ago, in which PERG invited representatives from the LA police jurisdictions, insurance companies, and rental companies for a meeting at ARRI‘s old location on Burbank Blvd. In that meeting, police were briefed on the epidemic of theft faced by the motion picture/television industry. Since then, law enforcement has used RENTAL GUARD as a resource. Stohl was able to add eighteen police reports to those being collected by Detective Elena Arias, who is handling Roman’s case.
Roman has somehow escaped justice for a remarkably long time. It is worth noting, that law enforcement located the equipment that led to his recent arrest Roman thanks to a well-hidden Air Tag. Long-time observers of Roman’s prolific efforts have speculated that he has an overseas contact to whom he ships the stolen gear. However, it now appears his operation is far less sophisticated than that. Police believe he worked alone and that, when he stole equipment, he pawned it within the hour. They have recovered numerous pawn shop slips of serialized items that are suspected of being stolen from additional victims. They are asking for anyone with any information to please contact them (see flyer below for contact information).
The events surrounding Roman’s arrest have highlighted the value of RENTAL GUARD, a free industry resource that turns ten years old this year. This comes just as PERG is developing version 3.0 of RENTAL GUARD and working to persuade insurance underwriters that a contribution to RENTAL GUARD is a worth-while investment. RENTAL GUARD’s sole sponsor is currently Hiscox insurance. PERG relies on the big insurance underwriters to defray the costs of maintaining the platform. The current events have served as a powerful reminder.
PERG thanks RENTAL GUARD sponsor
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