A scheme to steal a U-Haul van by forcing a homeless man to open a bank account and then have him rent the vehicle has Philadelphia Police and the FBI concerned ahead of this weekend's Blue Cross Broad Street Run.
Adding to the worry is the theft of a 16-foot-long Penske cargo truck a day later. Now, police are asking you to keep an eye out for the vehicles.
The homeless man told police three men took him to the TD Bank along Lehigh Avenue near American Street last Saturday to open a bank account. The group then went to the U-Haul rental stop along Hunting Park Avenue to rent a white Ford cargo van.
Joe Sullivan, Chief Inspector with Philadelphia Police's Homeland Security Unit, said the man was told to wait for the group to meet up with him later that day so he could return the van and be paid. They never came back.
Police don't know if the thefts are related and there's no indications either crime is terrorism related, but Sullivan said he likes to be cautious -- especially ahead of a weekend of events where tens of thousands of people will gather in town.
"The most important job of the police department at this time is to give info to the public and enlist their aid," he said. "This way now I have 1.5 million eyes looking for these vehicles."
The U-Haul van is a Ford E250 with Arizona license plate AG-30928.
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The Penske cargo truck is a yellow Ford E350 hi-cube and has Indiana tag 2245222.
Anyone with information can contact Philadelphia Police at 215.686.TIPS.
