Man allegedly tricks hotel valet by posing as pro basketball player and steals $90,000 BMW

A man posing as a professional basketball player reportedly managed to pull off a brazen move at a hotel in Savannah, Georgia, by talking his way into taking possession of a $90,000 BMW SUV. The incident occurred at the Hyatt Regency Savannah. 

As reported by the NY Post, according to a police report, the suspect reportedly walked through the hotel lobby and grabbed some belongings out of a white Audi before approaching the valet staff with a ticket for a gray 2026 BMW X5. When he approached the employees, he claimed to be a professional basketball player who had multiple vehicles parked at the hotel. 

Valets reportedly explained to the police that each ticket is unique to a specific vehicle, which makes this breach of security even more concerning. The BMW in question was actually owned by a dealership and was serving as a loaner for a guest staying at the hotel. Once the suspect got the keys, he reportedly drove off with the luxury SUV.

He reportedly stole another vehicle recently 

The investigation took an interesting turn when the dealership managed to track the BMW all the way to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This allowed the Savannah police to coordinate with other agencies, leading them to list the vehicle as stolen in both state and national databases. 

As investigators looked closer at the scene of the crime, they realized the white 2025 Audi A5 the suspect was seen in earlier had also been reported stolen the previous day. This car was found unlocked in the hotel’s parking garage later that morning without any visible damage, and it remains unclear how exactly that initial theft was pulled off.

This was not an isolated event for the suspect. Savannah police have linked him to another incident that took place nearly two weeks earlier at a Fairfield Inn. On August 5, a guest left her black 2019 Toyota C-HR with the valet service. When the guest attempted to retrieve her vehicle the next morning, she reportedly discovered the car was already gone. 

Records showed that a retrieval code had been used more than nine hours before the guest even reported sending the request. The system did not display the originating phone number, and while the key remained listed as checked in, it was missing from the valet lockbox.

The Savannah Police Department has been working hard to track this individual down. They released surveillance photos of the suspect on Facebook, describing him as a Black male between 20 and 30 years old. The department has even asked the public for help identifying him in connection with these various auto thefts.