Duluth, Georgia – A teen in suburban Atlanta has been arrested on charges of defrauding a grocery store where he worked for nearly $ 1 million for two weeks. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that 19-year-old Tre Brown was arrested Thursday by Gwinnett County detectives on felony theft charges.
He was released from prison on $ 11,200 bail.
Gwinnett County police spokesman Corporal Collin Flynn said that in December and January, Brown had stolen more than $ 980,000 in two weeks by concocting more than 40 returns for nonexistent items.
Cash from the proceeds, ranging in value from $ 75 to more than $ 87,000, was placed on credit cards, researchers said.
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Police said Brown used the stolen money to buy two cars, clothes, weapons and shoes. Before he was arrested, the teenager reportedly scored one of the cars, a Chevrolet Camaro, Flynn said.
The investigation began after employees at Cincinnati-based Kroger noticed the transactions.
Police said Brown stole the money while an employee charged with spotting fraudulent transactions was on vacation.
After the arrest, a “large sum of money” was returned to Kroger, but it was not clear on Thursday how much was being recovered.