Multi-agency task force breaks up luxury auto theft ring
Since April, more than 500 felony charges have been filed and 132 vehicles, valued at $11.5 million, have been recovered.
Insurers of high-end vehicles and luxury auto dealerships can sleep a bit easier as a coalition of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies have broken up a high-end auto theft ring that had operated in at least 15 states since 2021, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of North Carolina.
The theft ring set its sights on vehicles made by Bentley, BMW, Cadillac, Land Rover, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, and expensive models from Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and other automakers.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based theft ring allegedly targeted in-state luxury vehicle dealerships as well as dealerships in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Arizona. The stolen vehicles would then be transported back to Charlotte and sold locally at well below market value.
According to the district attorney’s office, the thefts were conducted in a number of ways. In some instances, a thief would take a car for a test drive, during which they would swap the key fob for a fake. They would come back later and use the stolen fob to drive away with the vehicle.
Other times they would skip the ruses, and deploy a smash-and-grab technique to break into dealerships, locate the keys and drive away with a vehicle. Multiple vehicles were stolen simultaneously on several occasions.
After the vehicles were boosted, the thieves would remove GPS navigation units and tracking systems, put fake dealer tags or stolen license plates on the car and replace the VIN plate.
Since April 2023, the coalition of law enforcement agencies have recovered 132 vehicles worth approximately $11.5 million, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Stolen Car and Recovery Law Enforcement Team (SCARLET). SCARLET was established to combat the growing trend of vehicle thefts.
Additionally, SCARLET investigations have resulted in more than 70 search warrants, and the seizure of some $210,000 in cash, 82 firearms, a large amount of narcotics and “numerous other illegal items,” according to the CMPD.
Further, five people are facing federal charges in relation to SCARLET investigations.
Facing charges for acting as drivers in the ring are Garyka Vaughn Bost of Denver, North Carolina; Kevin Ja’Coryen James Fields of Charlotte; and Reginald Eugene Hill of Charlotte.
Dewanne Lamar White of Sumter, South Carolina, and Hosea Fernandez Hampton, Jr. of Charlotte are being charged with paying the three, as well as others, to act as drivers.
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