REPORT: Omaha Toyota dealer employee accused of selling $282,000 in parts on eBay
Posted Oct 31st 2009 10:47AM by Chris Shunk
James Norwood was hired on at Old Mill Toyota in Omaha, Nebraska in 2000, eventually working his way up to parts and service director. At the same time, Norwood reportedly sold over $548,000 in goods as a hard-working eBay business owner, praised by customers for being dedicated and a fast shipper. Norwood sounds a lot like a man living the American dream, except prosecutors in Omaha allege that the entrepreneur has been stealing parts from his day job to sell on eBay.
The Omaha World-Herald reports that Norwood has officially been charged with theft, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Old Mill Toyota became suspicious of Norwood's actions when a co-worker allegedly witnessed him creating fictitious parts tickets using other employees' names and then later canceling them so the body shops weren't charged. Prosecutors also claim that Norwood would help his co-workers unload the parts truck, creating a separate pile of items that were intended for auction.
Authorities later seized Norwood's home and work computers and discovered the former parts and service director's blossoming eBay business. Among the stolen items Norwood's allegedly sold online were 798 bed extenders, 375 skid plates and 363 roof racks; parts that fetched $226,000. While authorities say Norwood's eNay operation netted $548,000 in sales since 2000, it appears he is only being charged with the theft of $282,500 in merchandise reportedly stolen from Old Mill Toyota after he became the dealership's parts and service director. Hat tip to Bob M
[Source: Omaha.com | Image: Old Mill Toyota]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
JayC 11:06AM (10/31/2009)
Wow this is sad.
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James 11:56AM (10/31/2009)
"At the same time, Norwood reportedly sold over $548,000 in goods as a hard-working eBay business owner, praised by customers for being dedicated and a fast shipper.."
20yrs incarceration feedback rating..
TigerMil 2:42PM (10/31/2009)
So eBay should go after the buyers who received stolen goods (ignorance is no excuse for receipt of stolen goods) and reclaim them and pay the Toyota dealership for the stolen goods and refund the eBay buyers.
This is one of the major problems with eBay...no policing of large sellers and where they get their goods. Do this with a car (mandagory Autoflog comment) and the real owner gets the car back and eBay has to make good on the deal....or not?
ambientFLIER 5:12PM (10/31/2009)
"So eBay should go after the buyers who received stolen goods (ignorance is no excuse for receipt of stolen goods)"
How were they supposed to know, exactly? Should they be prosecuted for simply using ebay?
Avinash machado 11:13AM (10/31/2009)
Employee theft is is a serious thing.
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Big Mola 11:18AM (10/31/2009)
How did this guy get away with it for so long? Nobody missed almost $300K of parts?
Fernando 11:43AM (10/31/2009)
Are they going to find the people who bought the parts and charge them with possession of stolen property or do they get a pass?
ambientFLIER 5:12PM (10/31/2009)
How were those buyers supposed to know that the goods were stolen? Am I supposed to ask a seller whether or not he stole his product before buying?
Tony 11:19AM (10/31/2009)
Sad thing is, he was living "The American Dream". Stealing , starting a Ponzi sceme, lobbying, consulting, somehow try to make a huge amount of money without any hard work. The average hardworking America stiff dreams of having a lot of money, sadly they do not possess the killer, lack of morals or ethics that the people living "The American Dream" possess.
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nighttime 12:29PM (10/31/2009)
Well said!
Tim 12:53PM (10/31/2009)
Completely off base and unfounded. The vast majority of the people living the American dream (that can actually afford it) are hardworking, rule-following Americans. White collar workers might not exert as much physical effort, but to be a successful doctor, manager, engineer, accountant, etc requires lots of mental effort and results in lots of stress. There are a few bad seeds, but there are also bad seeds among the working men (ie: this guy).
Class warfare is an immoral and unethical tactic in itself.
If I owned this dealer, heads would be rolling. Lots and lots of heads.
paul34 4:14PM (10/31/2009)
Right, Tony - everyone living the American dream are scoundrels and theives. Anyone who isn't on the street begging for change is an immoral waste of life. Yes, of course. American living is totally based on crime! Yup. You are so enlightened!
/sarcasm.
Murad 11:22AM (10/31/2009)
You're an idiot to relate this to the President.
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superset5 11:28AM (10/31/2009)
never cheat on your time card kids. it might work for a while but it never works long-term.
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BassClef 11:28AM (10/31/2009)
Aubs and Sam:
I see the joke you're trying to make, but let's keep that kind of thing on the People's Cube.
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Power Beauty Soul 12:08PM (10/31/2009)
How does one, as a general manager/principal of a dealership, not fire your parts and service director when there is $40k missing in parts? Nevermind $500k?
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TigerMil 2:45PM (10/31/2009)
YES! And the CFO or accounting department? Where are the checks and balances. I'd get and independent audit of the dealership and start firing people and filing criminal charges.
On the other hand, maybe it's just easier to have Tony start-a-breaking a couple kneecaps and have this manage the parts department on probation from a wheelchair as an object lesson to theft.
Polly Prissy Pants 4:07PM (10/31/2009)
You'd be surprised how poorly most small businesses are actually run. The owners all think and say they're run like clockwork but I've personally found few that really are. In a high cash flow operation like a car dealership they could lose one or two hundred thousand a year and have no idea if the discrepancy was even real.
Clavius 1:26PM (10/31/2009)
I'm guessing this dealership never did a audit of any sort over the past 8 years? And the quanities they reported that he stole/sold how on earth didnt a GM or even someone in Toyota realize that this dealership had a over abundance of parts. I hope the dealership and others start implimenting a checks and balances system. That and again how did Toyota not realize that this dealership had a huge stockpile of parts (well certain ones).
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Leclerc 4:06PM (10/31/2009)
You came up a cup of spew short of blaming Toyota for this. Anything to bash them, god are you a moron. How the f*** would Toyota know what the hell the guy in the parts department would be doing with all this stuff? I weep for your family.