Remember the Florida grocery cashiers who were arrested over the summer, charged with fraudulently redeeming coupons, then dancing and celebrating like they had just scored a touchdown?
Well, the brains behind that brilliant scheme is now going to pay the price for her party.
19-year-old former Winn-Dixie cashier Janeva Cagle of Immokalee, Florida (pictured above at left) pleaded no contest yesterday to a felony fraud charge. She was found guilty, sentenced to five years probation, assessed $665 in court costs and fees, and ordered to pay her former employer $11,584.
Back in July, she and co-worker 18-year-old Areli Gomez (pictured at right), were arrested after store management saw them on surveillance video “dancing and giving each other high-fives in an apparent celebration”.
Maybe they just really, really liked their jobs?
Well, who wouldn’t, after finding a way to give themselves a little bonus for a job well done?
In their case, the “bonus” came in the form of thousands of dollars in a coupons-for-cash scheme. Police say the two were seen on video “fraudulently scanning manufacturer coupons into the cash register with no actual customers present.” Once the coupons were scanned, the two would allegedly “remove the cash equivalent from the cash register and pocket the money.”
Sounds like something you’d want to keep quiet – but this duo apparently couldn’t resist celebrating their good fortune. “On a couple of occasions after stealing the money,” the police incident report reads, “they can be seen dancing and giving each other high-fives”.
When police arrived at the store to question the two cashiers, their demeanor had changed considerably. Both “were crying and visibly shaking,” the police report notes. They provided store management with written confessions, and were taken into custody.
Cagle was accused of starting the whole thing back in May. Over a two-month period, she was accused of pocketing $16,390. It’s not clear why she was ordered to repay Winn-Dixie only 70% of that amount. Gomez allegedly got in on the action in June, ending up with $3,650 before her arrest.
Gomez’s case is still pending. Cagle, in the meantime, has been ordered to repay Winn-Dixie in monthly installments of $194. At that rate, it will take her five years to pay off everything she owes.
And she won’t be able to earn that money at her old job – not only was she fired, but she’s been ordered not to trespass in any Winn-Dixie store in the county.
Perhaps she can put her couponing skills to work. After all, she managed to collect more than $10,000 worth. If she uses those little pieces of paper to save money instead of steal money – she might just be able to pay off that debt in no time.
Image sources: Winn-Dixie / Collier County Sheriff’s Office
