The owner of a towing company in Rensselaer County was arrested for a scheme in which he monitored area parking lots to steal vehicles that he towed and sold to used car dealers and scrapyards, state Attorney General Letitia James said Friday.

Charged with grand larceny and sceme to defraud on Friday was John Rivers, 43, the owner of Rivers Asset Recovery, who stole 17 vehicles worth a total of $230,000 between October 2022 and August 2024, James said. She said an investigation by the AG's office and New York State Police revealed Rivers used his contracts with local businesses to monitor parking lots, including Walmart in Latham, a Hannaford in Albany and a Home Depot in Rensselaer, and tow the vehicles before selling them.

"In some cases when the owners of vehicles that Rivers stole tried to recover their cars, Rivers would either ignore their requests or demand $1,000 for every day that he had held the car," the AG's office said in a statement.

Twelve of the 17 vehicles Rivers stole were sold to used car dealers and five were sold to scrapyards, James said, adding that towing companies are required to notify owners of towed vehicles within five days and must hold a vehicle for 30 days before claiming its title.

"Rivers sometimes sold vehicles he towed within days of towing them and without notifying the vehicle’s rightful owner," the AG's office said.

Rivers was arraigned before Rensselaer City Judge Linda Blom Johnson, the office said.