Luxury Car Theft Ring Busted In Charlotte After Federal Investigation

CHARLOTTE, N.C – A criminal indictment was unsealed in federal court Wednesday, charging five individuals with stealing dozens of high end vehicles worth millions from dealerships across the U.S.

The U.S. Attorney’s office charged Dewanne Lamar White, Garyka Vaughn Bost, Kevin Ja’Coryen James Fields, Hosea Fernandez Hampton, and Reginald Eugene Hill with these luxury auto thefts, dating back to 2021 across fifteen states.

They were charged with conspiracy to transport, possess, and sell stolen vehicles in interstate commerce, and interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle. White, Fields, and Hampton are also charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle.

It’s safe to say this was no small robbery. U.S. Attorney Denna J. King said these thieves were calculated. She lad out their robbery plan for WCCB.

“A certain group of them that would pretend to be interested customers that would go to dealerships pretending t be interested in purchasing the vehicles, and they would exchange the actual key fob for a fake key fob and they would return later where they would then steal he vehicle.”

These criminals avoided law enforcement detection by removing the GPS navigation and tracking systems from the stolen vehicles,

We asked our viewers on Facebook about this, some local dealership employees replied saying they take precautions and report suspicious activity and that they’ve stepped up their security protocols for the vehicles, keys, and the property.

In announcing the federal indictment, U.S. Attorney King said, “We will not tolerate brazen theft schemes that cost businesses and consumers millions of dollars. I want to thank our federal and local law enforcement partners for their incredible work with this ongoing investigation that has led to today’s charges.”

“Stopping schemes like this is critical as it not only protects businesses, but also it helps protect our economy,” said Special Agent in Charge Martinez. “We worked closely with a number of our law enforcement partners to shut down this multimillion-dollar operation and bring the perpetrators to justice and I am happy with the success of the operation.”