Car dealer allegedly scammed customers

Berwick, Pa. — A local car dealer is in trouble after a state police audit reportedly showed he'd stolen money from multiple customers to pay his own debts.

George Garrison, owner of Penn Motors, 701 W. Front St., admitted he hadn't sent in payments and fees to PennDOT for vehicles his customers bought because he needed that money for personal use, police say.

According to charges filed by Trp. Bruce Balliet:

A customer contacted state police on Feb. 2 with concerns about Garrison and his business practices. The customer had purchased a Ford F-250 on Nov. 22 for $32,000, signed the title, and filled out an MV-4ST form, which is used to transfer titles in Pennsylvania.

Along with paying for the truck, the customer also paid the taxes, title, and registration fees, totaling $2,300. In return, Garrison gave him a 90-day temporary registration tag. After a period of time, the customer realized he never got his registration or title in the mail, so he contacted Garrison.

Garrison told the man PennDOT was behind on its paperwork and he would issue a new transfer form to get a current registration. Instead, the paperwork never arrived and the customer contacted police.

On Feb. 22, Trp. Balliet went to Penn Motors and conducted an audit. He found seven vehicle sales that had titles and transfer forms that had not been sent in to PennDOT and was past the 20-day submission requirement. When questioned, Garrison admitted he was holding the paperwork because he didn't want to send in the accompanying fees. That money was being used to pay off other debts, he told Balliet.

Some of those sales dated back to 2020, paperwork showed.

Garrison was charged with seven counts of felony theft by deception and four counts of tampering with public records. He was also charged with seven counts of theft by failing to make the required payments and engaging in unprofessional conduct, and four counts of making a false application.

Docket sheet