A former employee of an Ocala paving company was apprehended after reportedly selling a stolen saw to a local pawn shop and making unauthorized purchases with a corporate-issued credit card after his termination.
The inquiry began after the paving company’s project manager reported unlawful transactions by a new employee, 42-year-old Jason Neil Licher, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
Licher was apparently given a virtual company credit card to use for job-related purchases while working for the paving company. However, the company allegedly lost communication with Licher on Wednesday, April 29, when a piece of equipment was reported missing from a job site.
According to the report, a concrete saw was reported stolen on the same day, and Licher was the last person seen using it. An MCSO detective searched local pawn records and learned that Licher reportedly sold the saw to an Ocala pawn shop on Thursday, April 30, the same day his employment was terminated.
Despite being fired, Licher allegedly continued to use a virtual company credit card kept on his mobile. The article states that Licher was seen making illegal transactions on surveillance footage from several businesses, according to police enforcement.
Following his termination, Licher reportedly executed 23 transactions, resulting in a loss of $2,872.87 for the paving company.
Ocala police identified and caught Licher in connection with the theft of the saw. He was transferred to Marion County Jail, where an MCSO detective contacted him to conduct an interview.
After being advised of his Miranda rights, Licher indicated that he had been with the paving company for about two months. He verified receiving a virtual company credit card but said that his employer “never told him what purchases were authorized or not.”
During the post-Miranda interview, Licher allegedly admitted to using the business credit card for personal costs such as phone bills, groceries, and clothing. According to the report, Licher said that the paving business “took the [credit] card from him” after he was sacked, but he couldn’t explain how the company could remove the digital card kept on his cellphone.
Licher was arrested and put into Marion County Jail, where he remains in detention. His bond has been set at $13,500, and he faces felony counts including grand theft (above $750 but less than $5,000), dealing in stolen items, and providing false ownership information to a pawnbroker.
According to jail records, Licher is set to appear in Marion County court on Tuesday, June 16, at 9 a.m.
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