BERWICK, Pa. — A car dealer in Columbia County has been charged with theft.
George Garrison, 61, of Berwick, was charged last month after a state police investigation.
Garrison is a salesman and owner of Penn Motors.
According to court paperwork, a customer had reported he bought a $32,000 vehicle from Penn Motors in November 2022 and paid for it in full, plus the title, tax, and fees associated with it.
The customer received a temporary registration but never got the official one in the mail after 90 days. Garrison told the customer that PennDOT was behind.
After not getting a registration, the customer reported Penn Motors to the state police.
An investigation uncovered that the business was holding seven vehicle forms that were not turned in to PennDOT in the required timeframe.
Garrison told troopers he was holding the money because he needed to pay off other debts.
The vehicles involved were sold between May 2020 and December 2023.
State police say that on some of the forms, Garrison had fraudulently changed the date of sale to make it appear that they were sold at a later date.
Garrison is charged with theft by deception, tampering with public records, theft by failing to make required disposition of funds, making false applications for title registrations, and engaging in unprofessional conduct/incompetency.
