( CNN ) -- The owner of a Nebraska car dealership and two executives were in police custody facing theft charges Thursday after 81 cars were taken from the dealership 's lot , authorities said . Alan Patch , 52 , who owns Legacy Auto Sales in Nebraska is being held in Tooele County , Utah . Alan Patch , 52 , the owner of Legacy Auto Sales in Scottsbluff , Nebraska , was being held in Tooele County , Utah , Scottsbluff police Capt . Kevin Spencer told CNN . Rachel Fait , 37 , Legacy 's comptroller , was arrested in Tooele County on Wednesday , and Legacy general manager Rick Covello , 53 , turned himself in to Scottsbluff officials Thursday , Spencer said . Police became aware of the case Tuesday , when they received a call from Toyota company officials , Spencer said . Toyota told police they had received a call that all of Legacy 's new Toyotas were gone from its lot . Employees arriving at the dealership for work on Tuesday also found the three executives gone , police said . They had packed up their personal possessions . Some computers were gone , as well . Fait and Patch 's homes in Nebraska were on the market and empty , Spencer said . In all , authorities found , 81 vehicles -- mostly Toyotas but some Fords as well , valued at more than $ 2.5 million -- had been moved off Legacy 's lot over the weekend and on Monday . At least some of them were moved by a Utah transport company that was paid with a fraudulent cashier 's check , Spencer said . Authorities have been trying to track down the cars , he said . Seven of them were found at a Utah auto business ; 16 others were sold at a Utah auction . Others were found in Las Vegas , Nevada , Spencer said , but police do not have an accurate tally of how many remain missing . The FBI has been assisting local authorities in the case from the beginning , Spencer said . The cars were n't the dealership 's to sell free and clear . While they technically belonged to the dealership , they were financed by Toyota , he said . New cars come to dealerships with documentation called a Manufacturer 's Statement of Origin . Police investigating the case found that those statements had been converted to titles , Spencer said . While such conversion is not a crime , and is not unheard of among dealerships , the step usually is seen when a dealership goes under and is trying to expedite the sale of vehicles , he said . What a dealer can do with cars depends on a dealership 's agreement with the manufacturer , Spencer said . Police are attempting to find out details of Legacy 's agreement with Toyota , he said , but `` normally as part of that agreement , [ the cars ] are not to leave the dealership . '' `` We 're of the opinion they 've committed a crime , '' Spencer said . Arrest warrants for the three list each as facing one count of felony theft , he said . The dealership had been facing financial difficulties , Spencer said . The Scottsbluff Star-Herald reported a bank had been overseeing Legacy 's day-to-day operations for about three months . According to the newspaper , the owner of a Utah auto auction said that some of the vehicles had been sold at his business , but he declined further comment , saying he was seeking legal advice because he was trying to work things out with Toyota . Doug Bergener , a manager at Bargain Buggys in Tooele , Utah , a suburb of Salt Lake City , told the newspaper he offered to buy 10 used vehicles from Legacy after hearing they were shutting down . But the vehicles that arrived were brand new , he said . He had sales pending on four before he got a call telling him not to sell them . He told the Star-Herald that he 's known Patch and Fait for years , and that Patch told him he had paid for the vehicles and had titles . `` I do n't think anyone can prove anything 's illegal at this point , '' Bergener said , according to the Star-Herald . `` We 've known Allen for 15 years and never knew him to do anything underhanded . There 's been no reason not to trust him . He 's always been honest . It 'll all come out in the wash . ''
Executives Alan Patch , Rachel Fait and Rick Covello arrested . Police say they loaded up 81 cars , emptied offices and homes and left town . Officials say the dealership had been facing financial difficulties . Police looking into the sale of the cars , agreement with Toyota .