A Larry H. Miller employee has been accused of taking nearly $70,000 from the auto dealership.
William Franco was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with theft by deception and theft, both second-degree felonies. He also faces a count of forgery, a third-degree felony.Working as a sales manager, Franco kept several down payments made by customers and charged them to phony credit card accounts to cover up his actions, prosecutors allege.
Court documents allege he siphoned off $67,400. He worked for the auto dealership from late 1998 through early this month, employees said.
One customer told prosecutors he bought a 1992 Ford pickup from Larry H. Miller in October. He gave Franco the total sticker price, $9,000, at the time of the sale. A few months later, Zion's Bank called the customer and asked him why he had not made any payments.
The bank told him he owed $5,731 on the truck. Franco allegedly forged the customer's signature to authorize the financing plan.
In another case, Franco checked out a 1997 Pontiac Grand Am for a customer to test drive. The car was never returned. Larry H. Miller employees investigated and discovered the person Franco said was taking the car did not exist.
Franco denies the accusations, saying he never took money from the customers, prosecutors said. He said he charged the down payments to an acquaintance's Visa card, according to court documents.
If convicted, Franco could spend 15 years in prison. Police have not booked him into jail.