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Man Charged With Embezzling $113,000 From Car Dealership

GREENSBURG (KDKA) – At one point, Brandon Varner was an associate of a Greensburg car dealership.

Now he's charged with stealing from that same business.

For the owners of Cerra Automotive, 37-year-old Brandon Varner, was a trusted wholesaler. The Greensburg company authorized Cerra to buy vehicles for the dealership. The deal was Cerra and Varner would split the proceeds from auto auction sales of the company's inventory.

But according to State Police, over the 16 months Varner sold 12 vehicles, he opened up an account in Cerra Automotive's name and banked the cash.

In all it was $113,000, some of it withdrawn for cash and bank card purchases.

Troopers arrested Varner, charging him with multiple theft counts.

Varner, who's free on $25,000 bond, runs a detail shop in Hempfield Township. When we showed up, Varner quickly shut the garage doors and locked the front door and wouldn't answer when we knocked.

Cerra Automotive declined to comment on camera, but said they will endure the loss.

Varner, meanwhile, will eventually have to come out of his business.

His preliminary hearing is set for April 30.

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