Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced that an Essex County man was sentenced to a lengthy prison term today for his role as a top member of a major international carjacking and stolen car trafficking ring that stole high-end cars in New Jersey and New York and shipped them to West Africa.
Kyle Champagnie, 30, of Irvington, was sentenced today to 14 years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Stuart Peim in Union County. Champagnie pleaded guilty earlier this year to a charge of first-degree financial facilitation of criminal activity. In pleading guilty, he admitted that, as a leading member of the carjacking ring, he conspired with other members of the ring to transport and traffic in stolen vehicles.
Investigators recovered 160 stolen cars worth over $8 million, primarily at ports in New Jersey and New York. Twenty-six defendants were indicted in December 2014 on charges of first-degree racketeering, including Champagnie and other leaders and associates who shipped, fenced, carjacked and stole vehicles, or acted as wheel men who moved and hid the luxury cars. Eighteen defendants have pleaded guilty to date in Operation Jacked and are serving or facing prison terms ranging from five to 20 years.
“Champagnie and his co-conspirators in this prolific crime ring used whatever means were expedient to steal luxury cars, including brutal carjackings,” said Attorney General Porrino. “By putting the leaders of this dangerous ring in prison for lengthy terms, we’ve made the many communities they targeted safer and, in all likelihood, saved lives.”
The ring targeted high-end vehicles, particularly luxury SUVs made by Land Rover, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Honda, Porsche, Jaguar and Aston Martin. Twenty-seven of the recovered vehicles had been taken in carjackings, a majority of which involved a gun or other weapon.
Carjackers would often target victims by bumping their vehicles from behind on the highway. When victims stopped to address the situation, the carjackers would take their key by force or threat, or simply jump into the vehicle and drive off if the key was left inside.
Other vehicles were stolen in “soft steals” from various locations where the thieves were able to steal them with one or more of their electronic keys or key fobs, which are critical to the resale value of the cars. Thefts occurred at carwashes and at airports, where drivers would leave cars running at terminals to unload luggage. In other cases, ring members obtained cars through fraud, using bad checks to buy cars from new and used car dealerships.
In West Africa, the luxury vehicles trafficked by the ring commanded prices in excess of new market value in the U.S.
Shippers would load the cars into shipping containers, which were taken to ports for transport by ship to West Africa. Of the 160 vehicles recovered, 140 were recovered at ports, including Port Newark, Port Elizabeth and Howland Hook Seaport in Staten Island, N.Y.
The ring operated in multiple counties in New Jersey, including Essex, Union, Morris, Monmouth, Middlesex, Bergen and Somerset Counties.