Prosecutors: JC Penney employee stole $35K+ through fraudulent orders sold at up to 99% off
Umeko Dixon
WAUWATOSA -- A Milwaukee woman stands accused of stealing more than $35,000 from her former employer -- JC Penney near 124th and Burleigh. Prosecutors said she processed orders and sold items at greatly reduced prices -- up to 99% off -- while serving as a customer service representative at the telephone order center. Many of the fraudulent orders were shipped to her mother's house, and purchased using a credit card in her own name, prosecutors said.
Umeko Dixon, 29, faces one count of theft (value exceeding $10,000), as party to a crime for the thefts from March 19, 2018 to April 11, 2018, during which prosecutors said she stole a total of $35,575.07 from the company.
A criminal complaint said in her role, Dixon would receive phone calls from customers looking to order items from JC Penney's catalog. Prosecutors said she was responsible for processing 58 fraudulent orders, using a credit card in her name to pay for 27 of the orders. Twenty-five were paid for by co-actor customers, and two were paid by Dixon.
Prosecutors said the co-actor customers included Dixon's mother. Thirteen orders were sold to Dixon's mother, prosecutors said, valued at $10,896.11. Dixon's mother was charged $631.92. Five co-actor customers, including Dixon's mother, were named in the criminal complaint.
The criminal complaint offered examples of the discounts prosecutors said Dixon offered:
Additionally, the complaint noted JC Penney officials successfully blocked $200,979.07 worth of orders -- canceled before they shipped.
That includes the following:
According to the complaint, a co-worker told investigators Dixon bullied the co-worker into placing fraudulent orders.
An initial court appearance was scheduled for Sept. 17.