By Brandi Makuski

A Bancroft man has been charged with cheating customers of his former employer.

Cory M. Coulthurst, 37, was arrested in February after allegedly duping customers of AP Venture, a scooter and ATV/UTV sales and service company where he previously worked, located at 1950 Post Road.

According to the criminal complaint, Coulthurst stole just over $8800 from four customers who ordered and paid for various ATV/UTV parts between Dec. of 2015 and March of 2016.

Coulthurst never placed orders for the parts, the complaints says, and repeatedly made excuses to customers for why the parts had not arrived.

Plover detectives later determined Coulthurst diverted the money into his personal PayPal account, then produced fraudulent invoices for the customers, all without the business owner’s knowledge.

Coulthurst faces four counts of theft by false representation and three counts of identity theft. If convicted on all charges, he faces more than 17 years in prison.

Coulthurst is currently free on a $5,000 signature bond. His initial appearance is scheduled for March 27.