A former employee of Summers Motors in St. Joseph is accused of appropriating thousands of dollars.

Cynthia Carson, 40 is charged in Buchanan County with a class C felony of stealing.

According to court documents, in April, David Summers the owner of Summers Motors reported to police that former employee Carson appropriated $42,076.65 from his business by issuing false receipts to customers, using the credit cards of customers to pay on accounts to cover the taking of funds, and issuing false/forged lien releases on sold vehicles belonging to Summers Motors.

Detective Richard Shelton with the St. Joseph Police Department said in court documents that Carson appropriated $3,420 from a customer by intercepting the cash payments and made false statements in the computer saying that customer was sick and unable to pay for her vehicle payments.

“Summers was made to believe by Carson that (the customer) was sick and unable to pay for her vehicle payments and wrote the account off when (the customer) was making the payments to Summers Motors,” Shelton said.

Shelton said on June 16 Summers Motors provided an audit of accounts showing 31 customers accounts had been used by Carson so she could appropriate funds from the business.

“Cynthia Carson, aka Cynthia Baker has moved out of Buchanan County and is now employed at another vehicle car dealer’s business in Liberty,” Shelton said.

Carson is being held in the Buchanan County Jail on $10,000 cash bail.  An arraignment is set for Friday.