PRIMERA – A man was arrested Friday and charged with theft at his place of employment. A police chief is treating this as a cautionary tale for hiring practices.

The alleged crime happened in the city of Primera late December. Police Chief Manuel Trevino believes the hiring method may be flawed.

It started on Facebook. A man from Primera gave a person off social media a job. That came with access to his ranch. Trevino advises employers to beware of who they trust.

"My recommendation to a lot of people is that they need be careful who they contact," he said.

The employee identified himself as Gary Ortega. Trevino says his real name is Gary Wayne Swanson.

Almost about a month after unsupervised work, the employer noticed several items missing. An inventory revealed nearly $3,000 worth of theft. The employer filed a police report.

Trevino says proactive hiring practices could prevent these situations from occurring.

"You need to get some references, for them to produce some kind of ID. So, at least you know exactly who you're dealing with," he said.

Trevino says the man went to police voluntarily and said he had pawned some items. Some were recovered.

They're still working a case that could be prevented with some scrutiny.

"I'm not saying that everyone in social media is trying to commit fraud but you need to be very careful," stressed Trevino.

The man was arrested and arraigned. The man who was arrested had two prior arrests. One of them was for theft.