Two Peebles employees charged with theft for fraudulent returns
WAYNESBURG – Two Peebles store employees at its Sugar Run Road location in Franklin Township were charged with theft for allegedly stealing money from the store through false returns over three months.
Julie Elane Craig, 38, of 210 Locust Ave., Mt. Morris, and Audrey Jean Lewis, 53, of 611 E. High St., Waynesburg, were charged by state police Thursday with theft for allegedly making numerous false merchandise returns between Dec. 9, 2014, and March 9, 2015, and keeping the cash from the register, police said.
Police said Craig was seen on surveillance video making the refunds and her transaction history shows 26 returns totaling $1,790.50, money that is still unaccounted for. Investigators said when they interviewed Craig, she told them she “didn’t think it was more than five” false transactions and estimated she took “maybe $500 to $600.”
Police said Craig told them she was going through a divorce and “needed cash.”
Lewis told police she made seven false returns totaling $392, court documents indicate.
A part-time supervisor at the Peebles store, located at 55 Sugar Run Road, confirmed Friday the two women were terminated “a while ago,” but declined to comment further on the incident.
The preliminary hearings for both women have not yet been scheduled. The charges were sent to the women in the mail by summons.