A South Carolina man was arrested Monday morning after allegedly embezzling more than $33,000 from a local hotel last year by convincing employees he was buying it.
Michael Phillip Luby, 60, who lists a Surfside Beach, S.C., address, was arrested around 11 a.m. and charged with theft of property over $25,000, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Luby was later released on $5,000 bond and is set to appear Dec. 10 in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the owner of The Springs Hotel and Spa, 135 Central Ave., filed a report with Hot Springs police alleging a theft of money from her business between the months of June and September 2018 by a known suspect, identified as Luby.
The owner said she was intending on selling the hotel and was approached by Luby, an acquaintance of hers, who told her he was "in the process" of getting his funds secured to purchase the property so she let him stay at the hotel.
While he was residing there, he allegedly began telling employees he had purchased the hotel and "began making decisions for the hotel as if he was the owner." She said he instructed the employees to provide him cash from the drawers on several occasions and had the hotel manager begin giving him most of the deposits.
The manager told police he had provided Luby with 14 separate hotel deposits totaling $33,148.78 between June and September 2018. The manager noted he was under the impression Luby was purchasing the property and "acting as the owner."
After an investigation, detective Nathan Rines issued a warrant for Luby's arrest on March 21, 2019.