Employee Stole 47 Rental Cars From Car Rental Store

An employee who works at an Avis Budget rental car location in upstate New York has been arrested and accused of stealing nearly 50 vehicles from the store they worked at, according to police.

The car rental company reported the disappearances of the vehicles, worth an estimated $1M, that were stolen from the store in Syracuse Hancock International Airport over the course of a few months.

An investigation by police at the airport found that a 31-year-old Avis Budget employee was in charge of the whole scheme, which involved renting out the stolen vehicles at their own locations around Onondaga County, authorities said. Police declined to release details of how the vehicles were stolen.

Police are looking for the employee, who no longer works for the company and is wanted on grand larceny and scheme to defraud charges. Multiple others have already been arrested in the operation.

Police said 42 of the 47 stolen cars have been recovered.

Asked about the employee and the thefts, Avis Budget released a statement only saying that company officials were aware of the allegations and cooperating with airport police in the investigation.

Read more at Associated Press