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Dealer Staffers Steal Thousands | DrivingSales News

Two Dealership Employees Stole Thousands From Their Stores

August 13, 2015 0 Comments

A former car dealership employee who stole money from his place of employment is now facing criminal charges. Dana Beniot worked at Billy Navarre Chevrolet in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Beniot reportedly created fake service invoice and insurance claims during a several month span. The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office reported that Beniot did not pass along money that they collected for the service repairs, instead keeping it for himself. Beniot also created a fake warranty claim on a vehicle that allowed him to get an engine for his own person use. Beniot has been charged with theft of $5,000-$25,000.

Beniot isn’t the only former dealership employee making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Mark Olson was a sales manager at Michigan City Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram who stole $20,000 from his store going back as far as July 2014. Olson accepted cash down payments from $1,000 to $3,000 and pocketed the money. Olson also took the time to cover up his tracks by forging paperwork. Olson’s attempt to cover up his misdeeds didn’t work. Olson is being charged with 13 felony theft counts and two additional misdemeanor theft charges. Authorities believe that Olson may have stolen even more than was discovered during their investigation.

Dealers who are searching for you next employee, how thorough are your screening processes? In an industry with high turnover, one can assume that more carefully hired employees could at least lead to less attrition due to criminal misconduct. In some cases, the crimes are found out when suspected and reported by co-workers. In one of today’s examples Dana Beniot was discovered only because some of his co-workers noticed and reported his fraud.

How big of a problem do you think criminal misconduct can be at dealerships across the nation? With documented instances of fraud and theft, should more be done to screen potential employees, or is predicting how someone will act in a position that involves high dollar transactions simply difficult to predict?

About the Author:

The DrivingSales News team is dedicated to breaking the relevant and the tough stories affecting car dealers. Have questions for DrivingSales News? Reach the team at news@drivingsales.com.

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