Target Employee Stealing Gift Cards: $3,835 Loss
APPLE VALLEY, MINNESOTA - Officers with the Apple Valley Police Department responded to a theft report from the loss prevention staff at Target in Apple Valley, Minnesota, on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, that involved an employee of the business.
According to the criminal complaint that the Dakota County Attorney's Office released, an employee was loading $10 gift cards over several months and using her employee number to override the transaction and zero out the balance. The employee would then use these gift cards to pay for merchandise within the store. This began to happen on January 10, 2023, with the last time occurring around September 28, 2023, and it reportedly occurred several times between this timeframe. The total loss from all the occurrences was $3,835.
When Apple Valley Police Officers responded to the call, the employee was on the scene and admitted they had been struggling financially since about January, which was why they were stealing the gift cards. The employee was identified as Teresa Caron, who was charged with Felony Theft (Aggregating) (Over $1,000 up to $5,000), which comes with a sentence of 0 to 5 years and/or a fine of $3,000 to $10,000.
Photo by Shabaz Usmani on Unsplash
