Former Ford Dealer Manager In Arkansas Accused Of Theft

Like any business, more than one Ford dealer has faced its fair share of unsavory accusations and criminal acts in recent years, with one recently being sued for discrimination and another that was found guilty of scamming customers into paying for features they didn’t necessarily understand or need. Now, we have another Ford dealer to add to that list – Central Ford in Trumann, Arkansas – where a former general manager has been accused of stealing money from the dealership, according to Automotive News.

The GM, Nicholas Holley – who is also a former police officer, ironically enough – is believed to have stolen at least $45,000 from Central Ford over the years, and he did so in a very unique way – by simply pocketing cash down payments on vehicles paid by customers, rather than submitting them to the dealership. Holley was only caught after a fellow employee at Central Ford gave him nearly $10,000 for a down payment on a vehicle but never received the title.

Holley managed to keep his fellow worker at bay by making excuses for why the title hadn’t arrived, but after two months of waiting, that worker called a supervisor at another dealer that’s part of the same ownership group. That supervisor then reviewed video footage and paperwork, quickly figuring out that Holley simply put the $9,400 in his pocket after the dealership closed and walked out with it.

After reporting the incident to police, Holley was arrested on multiple felony accusations including theft of $25,000 or more from a business and first-degree forgery, at which time it was believed that he had taken $28,756 from the dealer. However, that number has since swelled, and police discovered that Holley was taking cash down payments and still submitting paperwork to the finance department, though he altered the sales price or down payment amount to compensate. If convicted, Holley faces up to 20 years in prison, as well as $15,000 in fines for his discretions.

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