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Police: Bogus repairman steals ATMs he says he was fixing

Posted at 8:55 AM, May 28, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-28 09:25:54-04

GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, Mich. — Police are investigating after two ATM machines were stolen out of separate hotels by a bogus repairman.

The Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office received complaints Friday afternoon from two different hotels in the area—one in Traverse City and the other in Eat Bay Township.  Both locations reported having their ATM machines stolen.

Police say the individual responsible for the thefts presented himself to hotel staff as a service repair technician there to replace their outdated machines.  He informed the staff that he needed to replace their machines with newer models that had more current technology, according to police, but the man took the legitimate machines and then left behind crates that he said contained the newer models.

Photo of the crate left behind

Those crates were apparently empty.

Police told FOX 17 the suspect is described as a white man, 6 foot, 2 inches tall and weighing about 280 pounds.  He has dark hair and a beard and was wearing a blue work uniform with a baseball cap and glasses.  He was driving a dark-colored early to mid-2000’s 4-door Chevrolet pickup truck.

If you have any information about this case you are asked to contact the Grand Traverse County Sheriffs Office or Traverse City Police Department at 231-022-4550 or anonymous at 231-947- TIPS.