If there are any lessons to be pulled from the story of a criminal who was just convicted for the theft and resale of over 70 golf carts, brought to us by The New York Times, it’s this: Don’t steal. Next up? Don’t steal golf carts, then transport them across state lines to resell them—thus landing your criminal enterprise under Federal authorities’ purview.
But hold on a second—this guy, identified as Nathan Rodney Nelson, stole over seventy golf carts? According to the FBI, yes. The accused, for what it’s worth, says he pilfered or attempted to pilfer 84 such carts in several states over a four-year period ending in 2021. Apparently with the help of a universal key, perhaps some kind of key intended for the manufacturer or repair shops to handle any type of cart without needing specific keys, Mr. Nelson would go from golf course to golf course under the cover of darkness and make off with two carts at a time, driving them to a getaway trailer before making his escape.
To be honest, the golf-cart-related crimes we’re most familiar with have to do with a cooler full of cold snacks and a midday tee time, blended with the irresistible pull of attempting to jump a rented cart over, say, a sand trap or trying to race your buddies to the next hole. As far as stealing the things go, well, that sounds way less fun. Anyway, after nabbing the carts, Mr. Nelson would then move them around to various locations and then sell them on, apparently for about half their street value. Even so, the multi-year crime spree resulted in over $222,000 in losses for the victims.
The whole whirlwind of golf cart theft came crashing down when, eventually, authorities in North Dakota tipped off the Feds that some of these crimes may have been linked. Later, investigators were able to trace a phone number Nelson used alongside his alias when selling the illicit carts via a storage unit he rented to hold his bounty. Had the guy used a burner phone, it’s likely he could have gotten away with the whole thing, but then we’d have been deprived of this gem of a quote the man’s lawyer gave the New York Times when referencing the germination of the idea behind the crime spree: “it became easier and easier for him to stray from his long held moral compass.” Hey, we’ve all been there in a golf cart…
Keyword: Grand Theft Golf Cart: How to Steal 70 Carts and Not Get Away With It