In December of that year, however, Kauff and his brother were implicated in a car theft. According to the criminal complaint, Kauff and two of his employees, James Shields and James Whalen, sold a car to Ignatz Engel after stealing it and giving it a new paint job. Kauff adamantly denied the charges, claiming he didn't know the car was stolen. Specifically, he claimed that Shields and Whalen had given him what turned out to be a false bill of sale, thus leading him to believe the car had been acquired legally. After only 55 games in 1920, the Giants traded him to Toronto of the International League.