GREENFIELD, Wis. - Kayla Free, 39, of Greenfield, is charged after prosecutors say she stole more than $31,000 from her employer, Sport Clips, to support a gambling addiction.
A criminal complaint says she stole $14,912 from a Greenfield location, $11,631 in Franklin and $5,144 in Glendale.
The owner told investigators the same female employee made all deposits, and they "slowed down" in September 2021, stopping after that.
Prosecutors say Free admitted to having a gambling problem, saying she would lose $300-$400 a week playing video poker at a gas station near her house. She admitted she was responsible for making the deposits, the complaint says, but she didn't explain why they weren't made. Instead, she "kept trying to steer to conversation towards missing money from cash registers."
The regional manager confronted Free about the missing deposits, and Free said she would look into it. Later, she told the manager she found the missing deposits in a locker at the business, turning over $340 at a conference the two attended. When told several thousand dollars was missing, prosecutors say Free said, "Oh, wow," "but she did not appear surprised."
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She's charged with two counts of theft-business setting (greater than $10,000 to $100,000) and one count of theft-embezzlement (greater than $5,000 to $10,000).