Man accused of embezzling at least $50,000 from Lexus of Ann Arbor
A Howell man is accused of embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from Lexus of Ann Arbor while working as the dealership's general manager, Washtenaw County sheriff's deputies said.
David Alan Proffitt, 39, was charged Tuesday with embezzlement of $50,000 or more, but less than $100,000, county court records show.
He has not yet been arraigned in court.
Washtenaw County sheriff's department spokesman Derrick Jackson said Profitt is accused of writing more than 100 checks out to people, claiming they were customers who needed money refunded. Jackson said Proffitt forged signatures on the checks and cashed them, depositing the money into personal bank accounts.
Some money Proffitt is accused of stealing was used to pay another employee's rent, Jackson said, in an apparent attempt to convince that employee to keep working at the dealership.
"The employee wasn't in any way aware of where the money was coming from," Jackson said.
Jackson said he did not know precisely how much money Proffitt is accused of embezzling from the Scio Township dealership. The money was allegedly taken between April 2008 and February of this year.
Proffitt could not be reached for comment this morning. A woman who answered the phone at the dealership this morning said Proffitt no longer works there.
A manager at the dealership did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Lee Higgins covers crime and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at (734) 623-2527 and email at leehiggins@annarbor.com.
Comments
MLS
Fri, Aug 5, 2011 : 4:13 p.m.
What a tragedy for his family. I guess he must have been blinded by greed.
Gordon
Fri, Aug 5, 2011 : 12:56 p.m.
Seems poor cash accounting. Probably a civil matter which will turn into a criminal matter with enough facts. By the sounds of it the GM didn't understand the job. If true, pretty hard on the dealership both financially and public relations. Very difficult to improve a reputation.
John B.
Fri, Aug 5, 2011 : 3:36 p.m.
How does this hurt the dealer's reputation in any significant way? No consumers were ripped off, they just made a bad hiring decision, which has now been corrected. as far as your accounting comment, he did this in small amounts over a long time. Those kinds of scams are difficult to find, especially in a multi-million Dollar enterprise (and where the GM is the scammer!), but this was discovered before it got to be hundreds of thousands of Dollars, so I'd say they did a relatively good job of catching it quickly.
Soothslayer
Fri, Aug 5, 2011 : 5:48 a.m.
"A woman who answered the phone at the dealership this morning said Proffitt no longer works there" So what other incentive do the owners have to continue on with the business? (ba dum tiss!) XD
a2baggagehandler
Fri, Aug 5, 2011 : 2:59 a.m.
Enough to buy a nice toyota.
nickcarraweigh
Thu, Aug 4, 2011 : 11:49 p.m.
A dealership GM who calls himself Proffitt. Sounds like a Dickens character. Does the used car manager go by the name Lemmon?
racerx
Thu, Aug 4, 2011 : 6:58 p.m.
So he is only "accused" county court records show, but has not been arraigned in court. Is this the reason why there is no picture of him yet? I'm not a lawyer, and I don't play one on TV, but, how is it he is accused, not arrested, but county court records show he is accused of this crime. And how does the employee not know that their rent was being paid? As with most white collar crimes, especially embezzling, most companies see it as an embarrassment and would like to sweep it under the rug.
pvitaly
Thu, Aug 4, 2011 : 8:16 p.m.
The employee didn't know the money was coming from the dealer. This guy's last name is Proffit... seriously?
Dave Domanski
Thu, Aug 4, 2011 : 5:45 p.m.
That dealership has gone downhill a lot in the last few years; perhaps this is part of the reason why.
Smart Logic
Fri, Aug 5, 2011 : 11:06 a.m.
Possibly part, yes, but only part. Given the initial high price tag on Lexus and the high cost of service, I doubt it was too big of a factor.
81wolverine
Thu, Aug 4, 2011 : 5:08 p.m.
Just another example of someone trying to 'proffitt' illegally by stealing from their employer.
Cindy Heflin
Thu, Aug 4, 2011 : 5:03 p.m.
Ann off-topic comment was removed.
Cindy Heflin
Thu, Aug 4, 2011 : 5:03 p.m.
Ann off-topic comment was removed.
RJA
Thu, Aug 4, 2011 : 4:11 p.m.
OMG, that is all I can say!