A teenager ended up getting the better of a car dealership before eventually being arrested for his crimes. Police in Oklahoma arrested a teen months after he allegedly defrauded a car dealership out of nearly $100,000.
The Apache Police Department arrested 19-year-old Zachry Brent Bailey at about 3 a.m. on an outstanding felony warrant. Bailey had been visiting a dealership on April 19, 2023, and reportedly wanted to sell an Acura MDX.
At the time, dealership employees were suspicious of Bailey since he was so young. After they looked into how much was left owing on the vehicle, they discovered only $1,713.23 was owed.
Since the outstanding was very little, the dealership decided to move forward with the deal, purchasing the Acura from Bailey for $48,000. That same day, he received a check for a total of $46,272.97.
On May 1, he made his way back to the dealership to sell a 2023 Toyota Tundra and both parties agreed on a price of $66,500. Employees learned that the loan was through First Help Financial and the payoff amount was $2,244, so Bailey received a new check for $64,256 that day.
It turned out that it was later discovered that Bailey made fraudulent transfers on the outstanding balances of the Acura and Toyota loans the day before selling the vehicles. Two days after each of the vehicles were sold, the transfers that had originally been made by Bailey were reverted and the actual amount owed appeared.
As a result of this mess, the banks would not release the titles because the loan payoff was outstanding. Court documents also showed the dealership saw three ACH transfer attempts on May 3, 2023, with one going to C3 Rentals for $23,500 and the other two going to the finance company in the amounts of $4,999.99 and $3,689.68, the news station reported.
An arrest warrant was issued for Bailey on August 1, and eleven days later, Apache Police Officer Ben Lehew learned the suspect was possibly in the Apache area. This wasn’t the first time he’d been on the run for a con job either.
Lehew discovered that law enforcement officials in other states wanted to speak with Bailey for allegedly falsely impersonating a physician and obtaining expensive housing, vehicles, jewelry and electronics.
Luckily, the officer was able to locate where Bailey was staying, and with the help of additional law enforcement agencies, he arrested Bailey without incident. He was taken to the Caddo County Jail and held on a $200,000 bond.