Norwich police have arrested a car salesman who is accused of stealing cash that was supposed to go toward paying off a car.
Norwich detectives arrested 48-year-old Frank Hewitt, of Norwich, Thursday and said he was the subject of four outstanding arrest warrants charging him with two counts of failure to appear in the first degree, failure to appear in the second degree and larceny in the second degree.
The arrest comes after a local automobile dealership lodged a larceny complaint involving Hewitt in June.
Police said Hewitt was a car salesman at the automobile dealership when he sold a car to the victim who financed the vehicle through a bank and then, several days later, decided he wanted to pay the balance off.
The victim contacted Hewitt, who said he would facilitate the pay-off, police said.
The victim gave Hewitt a total of $10,431 in cash on two separate occasions to pay the bank loan off in full and Hewitt gave the victim two fraudulent dealership receipts and never deposited the money with his employer, police said.
The victim learned the loan for his vehicle was not paid off after receiving monthly bills from the bank, which included late fees. Police said the dealership was not aware of Hewitt’s actions until the victim notified them and the business immediately reimbursed the victim and files the complaint.
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Police said Hewitt also failed to appear for a scheduled court appearance at New London Superior Court on Dec. 12 so re-arrest warrants were issued.
Hewitt was transported to Norwich police headquarters, where he was held on a total of $51,000 cash/surety bonds.
