Criminal Charges Piling Up On Coventry Transportation Company Flagged By Better Business Bureau

COVENTRY, CT — About seven months after the Better Business Bureau issued a warning against Coventry-Based Eastern Transportation and Rentals, its principal is facing criminal accusations that he ripped off customers in Tolland County, state police said.

Charges have also been filed in central Connecticut and on the shoreline and in Hartford County, records show.

On May 1 state police served a warrant to 26-year-old Mitch Kloter, of Coventry, charging him with sixth-degree larceny. The same day, a second warrant charged him with forth-degree larceny and fifth-degree telephone fraud.

Kloter, according to warrants, is the proprietor of the company.

According to a warrant, on Sept. 10, a 75-year-old Somers woman called the state police Troop C barracks to complain she wrote a pair of $400 checks to Kloter as par of a botched airport trip. The woman told police she found Eastern Transportation and Rentals on Facebook and contracted with Kloter in July for a ride to Logan Airport in Boston. The woman told state police that an Uber driver showed up at her pickup location instead of Kloter, according to a warrant. Kloter then told the woman that her initial $400 check could not be cashed on his system because of the ink used and, after she wrote a second check, a credit union statement showed both checks on the transaction history, according to a warrant.

A second warrant out of Troop C charged him with violating a contract out of Tolland for a limousine round trip to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.

After paying for a limo to accommodate six people, a small sport utility vehicle that could carry just three adults with luggage showed up for the group, according to a warrant. The three remaining adults had to drive themselves to Queens, according to a warrant. Kloter also botched up the return trip with a vehicle that was too small, according to a warrant.

The "total loss" to the group was $1,158.50, a warrant says. The judicial system database shows eight other similar cases pending against Kloter — out of East Lyme, Portland, East Windsor, and Tolland County.

The cases coincide with complaints that prompted the Better Business Serving Connecticut to issued a warning in September regarding the company.

According to a news release, the Better Business Bureau Serving Connecticut received a Scam Tracker report regarding transportation services provided by Kloter and Eastern Transportation and Rentals.

A consumer told the BBB that, after seeing an advertisement for the company on a social media forum, Kloter was contacted about an airport trip and an initial payment of $425 was submitted, according to the BBB.

Despite accepting the pre-payment, a ride failed to show on the day of service, forcing the consumer to pay additional funds to a different transportation company, according to the complaint. For the return trip, Eastern Transportation sent a different driver, who charged the consumer an additional $224 as the driver claimed he had not been paid by Kloter, according to the complaint.

Things just began snowballing, according to the BBB.

The organization told Patch that, during July and August, it received an additional 10 reports about Eastern Transportation and Rentals that also reported Kloter failing to show up for contracted transportation services or sending third-party drivers in his place who required additional funds, despite having prepaid Kloter through a peer-to-peer app.

Requested refunds were promised by Kloter but were not provided and consumers have continued to file similar Scam Tracker reports, according to the BBB.

The BBB said, "Despite Kloter’s claims that Eastern Transportation and Rentals is licensed with the State of Connecticut, as of September 5th 2025, the CT Department of Transportation's Licensing and Compliance Unit has indicated that Eastern Transportation and Rentals does not have any permits or licenses on file, nor do they have an active business registration with the CT Secretary of the State. The CT DOT additionally reports that it has multiple pending complaints involving Eastern Transportation and Rentals and advises consumers to request a copy of the livery permit and proof of insurance prior to booking and providing payment for a ride with a livery."

Towns included in the initial complaints are Niantic, Ellington, Newington, South Windsor, Enfield and Glastonbury.