A 25-year-old Uber contractor was charged with grand theft after stealing over $25,000 in Uber rides and Uber Eats delivery. That's a lot of vegan chili fries.
CBS 5 reports that Bernie Ali Martinez of Colma (of all places) used a password to access Uber's computer system between the dates of February 29 and May 16, 2016. That's 25 grand on Uber in less that three months, which all crimes aside, is some pretty impressive spending for one guy from Colma.
Martinez admitted that he let some friends and family access the free rides and food too, giving new meaning to the phrase, weekend at Bernie's.
"He told us he thought it was much less," said San Mateo District Attorney Steve Wagstaff of Martinez's stolen Uber charges.
CNet has a statement about Martinez released by Uber which reads in part: "He was a temporary contractor who worked on Uber's business for a few months in 2016. As part of his job responsibilities, he was authorized to issue credits, but once we detected the abuse, we shut down his access and reported the theft to law enforcement."
Investigators served a search warrant in August of last year and arrested him in October. He's scheduled to be sentenced this September and according to his plea deal, will face six months in the county jail. If Martinez makes restitution and pays back that 25 grand, his charges might be reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor.
Martinez is out on $10,000 bail (aka: one month of Bernie's personal Uber charges).
Related: Uber Eats Driver Blocks Market Street And Flees From Cops, Gets Off With A Warning