Customer arrested after Hertz said he stole a rental car, but case dropped by prosecutor

Estero-based Hertz has once again drawn national attention of the unwanted kind.

Last year, the company paid nearly $170 million to settle hundreds of false theft claims involving its customers around the country.

And Hertz has been in the news of late over allegations that it wrongfully accused a customer of stealing a car, resulting in a false arrest.

The arrest happened before the settlement, but the case wasn't part of it. It involves Blake Gober, a 33-year-old former Marine and political consultant, who currently lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Gober recently told CBS News he unjustly spent a week in jail, which he wouldn't wish on anyone.

"It was hell. It was the worst," he said in the news report.

After coverage by CBS, the state prosecutor handling the case for Hertz in West Virginia, filed a motion to dismiss, saying the state had "lost confidence in the reliability of the information" the rental car company provided as a basis for the felony charges.

Hertz defends its actions

According to Hertz, Gober never told the company he returned the car.

In its defense, Hertz stated: “Almost four years ago, in 2019, Mr. Gober rented a car from Hertz for one day. He kept the car for over three months without payment. Hertz reached out repeatedly to Mr. Gober regarding its car, including by email, texts, phone calls, and certified mail.  Mr. Gober ignored all of Hertz’s outreach, save one phone call during which he hung up on a Hertz representative when asked to return the vehicle. Ultimately, Hertz reported its car stolen.”

Further, the company emphasized that it didn't file a theft report with the police department in Morgantown, West Virginia, where Gober got the car, until 53 days after the due date, following multiple failed attempts to reach him, and to recover the vehicle.

Gober tells a different story, saying he rented the car for a move from West Virginia to northern Virginia, and promptly returned it, dropping it off at Reagen National Airport in Virginia.

"For Hertz to issue a warrant for my arrest and to put me and my family through this is unconscionable," he said in a statement.

In case you missed it: Hertz agrees to pay $168 million to settle false arrest claims by hundreds of customers

Earlier: Lawsuit: New Hertz continues a pattern of false arrests for rental car theft

Police arrested Gober after pulling him over for speeding in 2022, then discovered he had an outstanding warrant for vehicle theft.

Hertz filed the police report on Jan. 13, 2020. A little over a month later, Gober claims the rental car mysteriously reappeared at an apartment building in Alexandria, Virginia, having amassed "a whopping 7,492 miles on it" since he'd left it at the airport.

Criminal charges 'shocked' customer

After the dismissal of the criminal charges, Travis Prince, one of Gober's defense attorneys, explained in a phone interview that his client returned the car late at night to the airport, so there was no one there to receive it, but he had the right to leave it there as a Hertz Gold customer and thought nothing of it.

"He did that, and he went on to live his life," until his unexpected arrest, Prince said.

"He was beyond shocked that these charges were out there," he added.

Gober told his attorneys and the media he didn't recall getting any email, phone calls, or letters from Hertz, and that they must have used incorrect or outdated contact information. However, Hertz said that it used the information he provided at the time of his rental, and that one time he hung up on a company representative attempting to recover the car after identifying himself on the phone.

On his client's behalf, Prince expressed disappointment with Hertz, who's CEO Stephen Scherr has repeatedly pledged to "do right by" customers wrongfully accused of stealing the company's rental cars, and to fix the problems that have led to false arrests in the past.

"Our goal all along for Mr. Gober has been to secure his freedom and to prevent his incarceration for allegations that were false, and things he did not do," Prince said.

Asked if his client might seek damages against Hertz, he said: "There is no justice without accountability. So, to that end, we are currently exploring all of our options."

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Theft charges against Hertz customer dropped after negative publicity