Pricey Rolls Royce rental used in several Metro Detroit bank robberies

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - It was a highly expensive rental that was used to commit theft in southeast Michigan.

That is what happened when a one-of-a-kind Rolls-Royce was rented and used in a string of thefts, and the owner was unaware.

The backstory:

Sam Zahar is the owner of Southfield's Dream Luxury Car Rental, where this week, a customer rented a Rolls-Royce for $1,750 per day.

That was when the theft spree started as the suspect traversed Oakland, Wayne, and Macomb Counties, robbing banks along the way. The case is in the hands of the feds, so it's unclear how many thefts the Rolls and the renter are tied to.

What they're saying:

Zahar didn’t even know it was going on, as he only found out while scrolling through his phone, seeing a video on Metro Detroit news.

"This is my car," he said. "I got a screenshot and I tried to, that's my car. I was about probably four detectives by my house driving around thinking I stole the bank because the car is under my name."

The driver led police on a chase, then bailed and ran on the city's east side Wednesday night.

Police were able to recover the SUV with about $15,000 in damages, with the driver on the run.

Dig deeper:

This was, unfortunately, not the first time this had happened to Zahar, as a few months prior someone rented a car from him, then robbed a mail truck after some renters took a G-Wagon for a joyride.

Most recently, a $300,000 vehicle was likely stolen during transport from Miami to Detroit.