Three fast food employees in Manchester were arrested after they allegedly stole $600,000 from a customer’s bank card. The trio were reportedly caught red-handed after the customer discovered the missing money on the heels of visiting the restaurant over the weekend and alerted the authorities.
The employees, who live in different areas in the parish, were taken into custody by the SIB Fraud Squad and the Financial Crimes Division. While their place of employment was not named, the trio have been identified as 29-year-old Shaquiel Salmon of Swaby’s Hope district, 22-year-old Shane Williams of Knowles Road, and 20-year-old Abigail Preddie, a cashier of Confidence Avenue.
After the officer received a report of an unauthorised transaction amounting to more than $600.00, an investigation was launched. The prominent bank that the money was stolen from also investigated the matter alongside the police. During the probe, detectives said they discovered that Williams secretly snapped a photo of the customer’s credit and debit card information. At the time, William was working inside the drive-through section.
Police said after the card details were stolen, the data was used to purchase Bitcoin from merchants abroad. After the transaction was completed, the cryptocurrency was reportedly resold. The suspects then moved the money from that sale through different transactions/accounts to make it difficult to trace its origin. After being moved around, the money was eventually deposited into multiple local bank accounts.
After the fraud was uncovered, police moved in, arresting the three employees. They are now facing multiple charges, including unauthorised access to computer data, simple larceny, conspiracy to defraud, and engaging in a transaction involving criminal property.
Police have now widened their investigation to other clients of the affected bank in an effort to determine if anyone else was defrauded by the group, according to the report. The trio remain in police custody, and their court dates have not yet been finalised.