Officials are looking for a man they say has been writing bad checks at car dealerships across metro Atlanta.
Dejarius Deion Thurman, a self-described pastor, is accused of writing bad checks at dealerships in Gwinnett, DeKalb and Cobb counties, Channel 2 Action News reported. He is already facing identity theft charges.
Thurman would pick out used cars late in the day and write checks on a closed account, Channel 2 reported. He allegedly wrote one check for $18,000 at Jim Ellis Automotive’s DeKalb location and another for $24,000 at a Cadillac dealership.
Jim Ellis Automotive Vice President Mark Frost said since most dealerships are self-insured, the thefts are a total loss and make it difficult to give raises and make new hires.
“It’s kind of like a virus,” Frost told the news station. “They mutate and they’re good at what they do and they learn what our process is and go around one or two of the hurdles that we normally have in place.”
Two of the four cars Thurman purchased have been recovered, Channel 2 reported, but auto fraud specialist Barry Bannister said more auto dealers may come forward.
“There’s gonna be more people out there that are going to have this problem to deal with,” he said. “(Thurman) knows what he’s doing.”
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