(Memphis) A Bath and Body Works store manager is in jail instead of at work after Memphis police say she cheated the store out of thousands of dollars.
Besides stealing stuff from the store, she’s accused of stealing costumer’s receipts so she could make false returns.
No amount of Bath and Body Works Soap will clean up this mess.
The store manager at Oak Court Mall is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from the store over a three-month period.
“In this case, there is $16,000 involved,” said Andy Wilson, a fraud investigator and consultant.
The district manager for the store says Tasha Mayes was caught on surveillance video stealing store merchandise and saving customer receipts.
“She saved them up and submitted them as if a customer had returned merchandise. In doing so, she was able to remove cash from the cash register and steal it,”’ said Wilson.
Wilson calls this type of scheme one that’s “on the books,” meaning the books balance out because the amount of cash taken from the register matched the records of returns.
The problem for Mayes was she was busted on surveillance camera processing returns with no customers there.
When confronted, we’re told Mayes admitted stealing $16,000 from the store to her district manager, but when police showed up, detectives say she only admitted to stealing just under $3,000 since Halloween.
“She minimized her crime,” said Wilson.
Wilson says minimizing the crime is common among the white-collar criminals that he investigates.
He says they steal money at the expense of everyone else.
“It is a big deal because it affects all of us. It affects the prices we pay at the register at stores everywhere.”
Police say Mayes gave a statement admitting that she stole $500 in cash and up to $2,000 in merchandise.
That’s much less than $16,000 she’s accused of stealing.
She’s due back in court on May 20, and is in jail on a $25,000 bond.
