NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Two former car dealership managers have pleaded guilty or no contest to theft in what prosecutors describe as a $350,000 fraud.
 
Orleans Parish prosecutors said in a news release Wednesday that 49-year-old Bryan Ashley Collins and 48-year-old Lawrence Thornton received suspended three-year prison terms on Tuesday.
 
Collins was a general manager and Thornton was a finance manager for Premier Honda when they were arrested in 2017.
 
Prosecutors say the victims were usually women with credit problems and a need for immediate transportation. Collins and Thornton would pocket down payments without giving receipts, then send customers out with "loaner" vehicles or used cars with temporary tags while supposedly working to make the purchase final.
 
Other dealership officials uncovered the scheme.
 
Prosecutors say Collins apparently lost track of one vehicle and reported it as stolen.