Ford Employee Charged with Theft of $500,000 of Tire Pressure Sensors
An employee of Ford’s assembly plant in Avon Lake, Ohio has been charged with theft of tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) sensors from the assembly line, then turning around and reselling them on eBay and other online sites. According to the Avon Lake Police, Ford valued the total theft at $500,000!
Joseph Jankulovich, 48, of Sheffield, Ohio, faces felony theft and receiving stolen property charges related to his alleged theft. He was selling the sensors online for anywhere between $10 and $20, when a dealership would pay close to $100 for the same part. Since he didn’t pay anything for them, he made all the profit while the unsuspecting customer saved a bunch of money.
He was allegedly caught after the factory had so few TMPS sensors that they had to stop production and fly some in special from Detroit. The company began to investigate and that’s how Jankulovich was ultimately caught.
The local news station in the area stated that around 5,000 sensors were stolen and sold, but Ford is putting the number around 8,000. That’s a lot of sensors to smuggle out of the plant. It was definitely no small job. As of this time, no one else has been charged.
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via [Automotive News]
