I don't believe the 1500-2000 statistic for "leaked" HMMWV's in civilian hands.
The USMC deal was on a bridge project with United Defense. United Defense then auctioned these off in CA and GA. From my understanding, they were sold in lots that included several "vehicles" in various states of repair along with pallets of parts like engines, tranny, diff, xfer cases, troop racks, etc etc. In total there were around 600 vehicles sold and some of those were just rolling FRAMES with no bodies.
They were supposed to be exported, but some loophole allowed these ones to sell to the US public. My M998 (now a M1025A2) was from the Albany auction. Special thanks to Len Eaves for taking care of her before I brought her home.
As others stated, you want to make sure your truck came off on a SF97. Mine is titled and registered for on-road use in FL. No SF97 = Jail.