BURLINGTON - Burlington police had a special gift for Edwin Negrin on his birthday.

They arrested him.

Negrin, 47, whose last known address was in Scottsdale, Ariz., was arrested Saturday for theft, attempted theft and uttering a forgery. He was charged with the crimes Tuesday, and is being held on a $20,000 cash bond.

Burlington police arrested Negrin in Milwaukee on Saturday, after a local woman contacted them with suspicions about an SUV she purchased from him the week before.

Burlington Police Investigator Rodney Thurin said the woman paid $11,200 for a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe, after finding Negrin through Craigslist, a free online classified site.

"He had what appeared to be normal paperwork for the sale of a car," Thurin said.

He didn't have the title, Thurin said.

"He had several reasons why he didn't have the title," Thurin said. "He was liquidating businesses in the area and outside the state and said he was liquidating the fleet of vehicles and needed the money to keep his employees because times are tough."

Thurin said the woman felt comfortable completing the sale because it had plates, and she was given documents that appeared legitimate. When she was still getting excuses - and not the title - a week later, she went to police, he said.

Thurin ran the plate and VIN number and discovered the SUV belonged to Enterprise.

Negrin is believed to have legitimately rented the vehicles, Thurin said. The first one was from an Enterprise in the Madison area, and the other was from the Detroit area.

"The guy did give them a credit card that was valid," Thurin said. "They were charging on that card."

The vehicles had not been reported stolen, Thurin said.

"He made several excuses to them, that he was out of state, or needs them longer, that he had to fly over here and fly over there," Thurin said. "The cars weren't reported stolen, but they weren't owned by him."

Working with the victims and Milwaukee police, Thurin set up the Saturday sting in Milwaukee.

"We entered the area where he was supposed to be," Thurin said. "We located the vehicle in a business adjacent to the original meeting point, with him in the driver's seat. I identified him, we took him down, and found in that vehicle another bill of sale identical to the one of the truck purchased on the 11th. He was kind enough to sign it before we got there, which showed his intent to get rid of that vehicle."

Thurin said Negrin is wanted elsewhere in the state for fraud. If convicted on all charges, Negrin could face up to $97,500 in fines and 36 years imprisonment.