A man allegedly impersonating a professional basketball player convinced valet workers at a Georgia hotel to hand over the keys to a $90,000 BMW SUV, according to police. The incident occurred around 12:30 a.m. on August 14 at the Hyatt Regency Savannah.
The suspect, described as a Black male between 20 and 30 years old, approached the valet stand with a ticket for a gray 2026 BMW X5. He reportedly told hotel employees he was a professional athlete with multiple vehicles at the property before taking the SUV and driving away. Savannah Police Department investigators noted that each valet ticket is unique to a specific vehicle.
The BMW was a loaner vehicle from a dealership for a hotel guest. The dealership later tracked the SUV to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, prompting Savannah police to alert local authorities and have the vehicle added to state and national stolen vehicle databases.
Investigators also discovered that a white 2025 Audi A5, which the suspect was seen retrieving belongings from in the hotel lobby before taking the BMW, had also been reported stolen the previous day. The Audi was found unlocked and undamaged in the hotel's parking garage later that morning. It remains unclear how the Audi was stolen.
Authorities have linked the suspect to another hotel valet theft in Savannah that occurred nearly two weeks prior. On August 5, a guest at a Fairfield Inn left her black 2019 Toyota C-HR with valet service. When she requested the car the following morning, it was gone. Valet records indicated the retrieval code for the car was used at 12:06 a.m., more than nine hours before the guest reported sending it. The system did not display the originating phone number, and the key was missing from the valet lockbox.
The Savannah Police Department released surveillance photos of the suspect on Facebook as part of their investigation.
This incident echoes a previous case where an individual posed as a professional athlete for fraudulent purposes. In a separate case last month, Daejon Labrayae Love, 35, and his alleged accomplice, Taylor Jamie Chan, 18, were arrested and charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Prosecutors stated that Love convinced women he was a wealthy San Francisco 49ers player, while Chan posed as his financial advisor. They allegedly created fictitious investment schemes, using fake messages about investment opportunities to defraud victims.