A man who used to work for equipment-maker John Deere is accused of stealing more than 100 miniature tractors and selling them online for $16 to $10 each.

Timothy Paul Weekes, 25, of Cary is charged with embezzlement and the theft of 104 toy tractors worth a total of more than $2,000. He was arrested Thursday and freed on bond, a day after police seized hats, gloves and other John Deere logo merchandise from his home.
Court records indicated he worked at the John Deere training center in Morrisville until March 17. The international company, based in Moline, Ill., has five corporate offices in North Carolina.

The company sells memorabilia including the pewter models, T-shirts and hats that are popular with collectors, said Bill Klutho, public relations manager for the company’s commercial and consumer division.

“It all has to do with the popularity of the brand,” Klutho said. “It’s a legacy brand that’s been around for about 170 years.”

An unidentified John Deere employee called a company hotline in July to report that someone was selling the toy tractors on eBay. Police discovered that almost 60 percent of the stock of the items kept at the Morrisville office was missing.

Fraud investigators with eBay told police that Weekes had sold John Deere products 34 times in May and June, a search warrant indicates.

Posted: 08|29|05 at 10:08 am. Filed under: US News.