The general manager of Carl Gregory Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Hyundai of Albany, Georgia was arrested on charges that he stole up to $9000 from customers.  The sheriff’s office claim that general manager, Joseph Martin, and “top salesman,” Mark “Bo” Kennedy, worked together to steal money from customers. Allegedly, the pair revised customers’ paperwork in order to scoop their down payments.  They were also accused of taking in trades, not paying them off and then pocketing the money.  They were caught when a customer complained to another Carl Gregory employee and produced a receipt that was not an official receipt from the store.

The sheriffs deputies caught former GM Martin when they spotted a Hyundai Sonata that he had reported stolen parked next to his car at his apartment.  Apparently Martin loaned out the car and then reported the car stolen when he could not explain the car’s whereabouts.  The “top salesman,” Bo Kennedy, is still at large.  According to reports, he has a long criminal background that includes deposit account fraud, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, criminal trespass and battery.

Carl Gregory immediately reimbursed the customers.  He also said that he is implementing procedures to do a more extensive background check on his employees. 

So what is the lesson from this situation?  Carl Gregory is a good dealer, and this case highlights one of the biggest problems of a good dealer – you have to trust your managers.  Carl Gregory can’t be in all of his stores all of the time.  He has to trust his GM’s to protect his interests.  When your GM is a thief, things can get out of control very quickly.  Obviously, a good background check would have caught the salesman because he had a long criminal history.  But what about the GM?  Carl Gregory has to ask himself why he trusted that man to run his business.  I’ve been in this business for a long time, and I have seen a lot of good, professional GM’s.  I’ve also seen a lot of GM’s who are blowhards and thieves.  The interesting thing is that the blowhards and thieves always find jobs.   

AlbanyHerald.com

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WFLX News

Last week I wrote a post called “12 Things That Keep You Awake at Night.”  One of the things that I suggested might keep you awake at night is the fear that your controller is a compulsive gambler.  That came from a case where a long-time controller had stolen money for years to support her secret gambling habit.  Whether the motivation is gambling, desperation, or just greed, a dishonest controller or bookkeeper can be a dealer’s worst nightmare.  Not only does it hurt to lose the money, but usually the bookkeeper or controller is the dealer’s most trusted employee.  

When I was a general manager we did a few things to keep everyone honest.  First, the mail came straight to me, and I always opened every piece.  I can’t tell you how many bogus invoices that I caught.  Online banking and email makes it more challenging for a dealer to filter and review all of the financial information.  I also signed every check, and insisted that the supporting documents accompany the check.  Finally, we always had outside accountants do an independent audit of our books.  These are pretty basic steps, but I am surprised that some dealers don’t follow these practices.

In the Suwannee case, I’m not sure how this bookkeeper was able to get $100,000 from daily deposits, but if there is an accountant or a controller reading this, I would be interested in your comments.

“$100,000 Embezzled from Dealership, Report Police,” Suwannee Democrat