Here’s a reminder to establish specific protocols for conducting test drives at your dealership.

Or perhaps to revisit and sharpen the strategy already in place.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice said the fifth member and leader of an organized auto theft ring that stole more than 100 high-end vehicles worth millions of dollars from dealerships located across the United States was sentenced to 97 months in federal prison.

According to court documents and court proceedings, from 2021 to 2023, Hosea Fernandez Hampton and his co-defendants engaged in a conspiracy to steal luxury models from dealerships in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Arizona.

To maximize profits from the thefts, officials said Hampton and his co-defendants targeted luxury vehicles made by Bentley, BMW, Cadillac, Land Rover, Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz, as well as other expensive models from Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, and other manufacturers.

Court documents showed that Hampton was one of the leaders of the auto theft scheme, frequently organizing the thefts, identifying target dealerships, recruiting drivers to transport the stolen vehicles and later paying the drivers for their services.

According to court records, during Hampton’s time in the conspiracy, conspirators stole at least 82 vehicles worth nearly $5.9 million.

Generally, the Justice Department recapped that Hampton and the co-defendants visited dealerships posing as customers interested in purchasing vehicles. After pretending to test drive or inspect the vehicles, officials said the defendants would swap the vehicles’ key fobs with similar ones and later use the stolen key fobs to steal the vehicles.

Other times, officials said Hampton and the co-defendants employed methods like “smash-and-grab” thefts, where they would break into dealerships and locate keys to the high-end models, or break open lockboxes containing keys to luxury vehicles and then drive the vehicles off the lot.

On several occasions, the defendants and other co-conspirators stole multiple vehicles simultaneously, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses, the Justice Department said.

According to court documents and the sentencing hearings, once the stolen vehicles were taken off the dealership lots, the defendants avoided law enforcement detection by removing the GPS navigation and tracking systems from the stolen vehicles, attaching fictitious dealer tags or stolen license plates on the vehicles, and replacing the vehicles’ authentic vehicle identification numbers, among other things.

Officials added that the stolen vehicles were then transported back to Charlotte, N.C., where they were sold locally at prices well below market value.

The Justice Department went on to mention Hampton also frequently possessed and later sold many of the vehicles stolen in the scheme.

Adding to the seriousness of the offense, officials recapped that Hampton and his co-conspirators drove vehicles recklessly, including by fleeing from law enforcement at high speeds, and possessed firearms.

During the scheme, Hampton was stopped in Flagler, Fla., driving a blue 2018 BMW M5 that was stolen from a dealership in Wilmington, N.C. During a search of the vehicle, law enforcement located various key fobs and a Glock 19X firearm under the driver’s seat.

Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, said Hampton was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after completing his prison term.

According to a news release, Hampton previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport, possess, and sell stolen vehicles in interstate commerce and possession of a stolen motor vehicle.

“This was a sophisticated car-stealing operation by professional criminals across multiple states,” Ferguson said. “Hampton now has years behind bars to contemplate whether a life of crime is worth the loss of his freedom.”

Hampton’s four co-defendants also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport, possess, and sell stolen vehicles in interstate commerce and were previously sentenced as follows:

—Dewanne Lamar White was sentenced to 108 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. White also pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen motor vehicle.

—Kevin Ja’Coryen James Fields was sentenced to 96 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Fields also pleaded guilty to interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle.

—Reginald Eugene Hill was sentenced to 60 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.

—Garyka Vaughn Bost was sentenced to 12 months and a day in prison followed by two years of supervised release.