MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Police arrested a woman for trying to steal nearly $20,000 in money orders from her place of employment Monday . Other local business owners said the case represented their challenge in finding reliable employees.
Mohammad Ibrahim manages a smoke shop on Appling Road but recently said hiring had been his biggest challenge.
“You have to watch your employee all the time to make sure they don’t touch your money. That’s my job, to watch them,” Ibrahim said.
He said about eight out of ten people he hires try to steal from him, so he sympathizes with his next door neighbors at Circle K, where police said an employee tried to take up to $18,000 using money orders.
Police said the employee, 19-year-old Dinisha Evans, got a phone call from someone saying they were going to deliver new camera equipment worth $18,000. He had a delivery person call and then told her to print multiple money orders. She did, and then she took them to the Post Office and mailed them to a P.O. Box in Mountain City.
“It would be a huge red flag for that much money,” one woman said of the scheme.
It’s unclear if the employee was caught in a scam or if she knew the plan all along. WREG went to her house to find out, but no one answered the door.
Circle K management wouldn’t comment either.
“Now you can’t trust anyone. It’s not easy to trust an employee. You have to ask them all the time,” Ibrahim said.
Police say the money orders ended up being more than $15,000. They say they are tracking them down in the mail and have the U.S. Postal Service involved.
