Montgomery College worker steals vans, truck, ATVS, equipment; sells at auction
ROCKVILLE, Md. July 5 2017 A Montgomery College employee is accused of stealing a squadron of campus vehicles and equipment, and in turn, selling the oversized items at a Frederick County auction house for tens-of-thousands-of-dollars in profit.
Michael Ogunloye, 44, of Montgomery Village, is currently banned from coming to work at the community college while he bounces through the court system with a charge of felony theft.
According to the Montgomery County Police Department, between April 2015 and December 2016, Ogunloye slyly smuggled eight cargo vans, a Chevrolet box truck, a Ford F250 pickup truck, a golf cart, four all-terrain vehicles, a generator and six landscaping blowers off college property.
As investigators explain it, Ogunloye would take the pricey items to J.G. Cochran Auctioneers & Associates in Boonsboro, Maryland, where the stolen goods were sold to the highest bidder. Staff at the auction house would then provide Ogunloye with checks, which he would deposit at the Educational Systems Federal Credit Union. Police say Ogunloye managed to accumulate $35,891.00 in payments over 20 months.
According to his public LinkedIn account, Ogunloye has worked as a property control assistant in Montgomery College’s Office of Procurement since 2005. In that role, Ogunloye stated he was responsible for “removal, recycled, and storage of federal and non-federal assets destined for surplus” at the Germantown, Rockville and Takoma Montgomery College campuses.
“Kept an active database of all Montgomery College surplus items; as well as handled donations to non profits, prepare various reports for departments and supervise and organize commercial movers for surplus pick up and deliveries,” Ogunloye also wrote in his job description on LinkedIn.
A Montgomery College spokesman says Ogunloye is currently on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of the active criminal investigation. That task includes sifting through more than a decade of expense reports and other work documents to determine the full extent of the alleged thievery.
A woman who answered the phone Monday at J.G. Cochran Auctioneers stated their well-respected business has worked with Montgomery College since the 1980s, and consequently, had no reason to doubt Ogunloye’s intentions were anything, but upstanding.
While being questioned by detectives, Ogunloye claimed every check was routed to Montgomery College coffers. He also refused to provide police with an accurate home address, offering the Montgomery Village Post Office’s address instead.
On Monday, ABC7 News contacted Ogunloye via LinkedIn in an effort to obtain a comment from the 44-year-old, but as of this story’s posting, had not heard back.
Ogunloye is facing a single felony count of Theft Scheme $10,000 – $100,000, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and/or $15,000 in fines. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 24 at 8 a.m. in Montgomery County District Court.
WJLA
