Thief Steals Mercedes From Dealership With Fake Key Trick

On July 11 in Houston, Texas, police have arrested Nicholas Butkovich in connection with the theft of a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C250 Sport. Butkovich allegedly went into Archer Volkswagen in Houston, Texas and test-drove the high-end European machine. What happened next was described as a sleight of hand. Butkovich apparently came into the store with a key fob similar to that of the C250 Mercedes-Benz.

After the test drive, Butkovich declined to purchase the vehicle and returned the key fob to the dealership, or so they thought. It turns out that Butkovich took the real keys when he left, leaving the store with a false set of keys. What happened next is just as you might expect, later that night, Butkovich allegedly returned to Archer Volkswagen later that day and left with the Mercedes. Now, the would-be car thief did not keep the vehicle and hide it in a garage, he posted it on craigslist. Jeremy Ortego, a salesman at Archer Volkswagen explained what happed. He told KPRC, “A customer used a sleight of hand trick to take the key fob and switch it with a bad key fob and give it back to the salesperson.”

Butkovich put the Mercedes on Craigslist for $17,900 three days after his apparent theft. When he took the vehicle, he made a few changes before posting it. Butkovich changed the vehicle VIN number and obtained a false title to partner with it in the sales process. The tale for Butkovich came to an end when he was apparently pulled over in the Mercedes, leading police and the dealership to realize that had occurred. Butkovich has already done time in Oregon for selling vehicles as a dealer without any sort of dealer license. He is also wanted for crimes in California.

What do you make of this sleight of hand crime? How closely can dealership employees be expected to watch customers? If a criminal brings in a fake key fob into a dealership, how could the employees diagnose and stop this type of fraud?