The former owner of a custom car building business in Seymour has been arrested after an investigation linking him to the theft of more than $130,000.
Joshua A. Alvey, 36, of Seymour, was arrested Friday on five Level 6 felony charges of theft, according to a report from Detective Sgt. C.J. Foster with the Seymour Police Department.
Alvey was the owner of Slaughterhouse Customs LLC and Sinners Hot Rods LLC at 900 N. Ewing St. Those businesses closed sometime in the fall of 2015, Foster said.
Alvey’s arrest stems from an investigation that began in October 2015 when several people who live out of state contacted Seymour police claiming they had paid Alvey to build custom cars. Those people told police Alvey did not produce a car for them, and he did not return their money when the businesses closed, Foster said.
One of those people is Mark Chick of Missouri, who has a lawsuit pending against Alvey in Jackson Superior Court I for the return of his money and damages. Chick claims on Facebook that Alvey took him for $29,000.
During the investigation, Foster said Chick and four other people who live outside Indiana told police they had paid more than $130,000 to Alvey for him to build custom cars, and he had not done so. The investigation included interviews with those filing the complaints, Alvey with his attorney present and bank account information.
None of the missing money has been recovered, Foster said.
Each of the theft charges is for amounts ranging from $750 to $50,000.
Alvey was booked into the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown at 11:09 a.m. Friday and was being held without bond pending his initial hearing.