Menomonee Falls cash thefts from Cost Cutters; West Bend woman accused

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. - A 25-year-old West Bend woman is accused of stealing more than $5,000 in cash from a Menomonee Falls business where she worked. The accused is Jada Ovalle – and she faces a single charge of theft-business setting. 

"Employee theft matter"

What we know:

According to the criminal complaint, a Menomonee Falls police officer was dispatched on Monday morning, Feb. 17 to return a phone call from the owners of Cost Cutters located on Appleton Avenue. The call was regarding an employee theft matter tied to defendant Ovalle, who was hired as a hairstylist in February 2022.

Jada Ovalle

When the owners spoke to the officer, they said they "found out that an employee was taking money from the cash register while she was at work at Cost Cutters," the complaint says. The owners said they discovered the theft on Saturday, Feb. 15, "when a customer came into the store wanting to return a product that they purchased with cash on February 11, 2025. The manager who was working at the time of the attempted return, could not find the transaction anywhere in the store's transaction system," the complaint says. 

The discrepancy caused one of the owners to review video footage, which the complaint says showed the defendant "ring up the customer at the cash register. The customer gave Ovalle cash. Ovalle manipulated the cash register indicating it was a cash transaction. Ovalle shuffled the money with her hands and put it in her pocket instead of the cash register. The transaction that (the owner) observed on the store's surveillance system was canceled by Ovalle," the complaint says.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android

After the owners recognized what was happening, the complaint says they reviewed all cash transactions made by Ovalle over the previous two weeks -- from Feb. 4 and Feb. 12. They learned "there were eight (8) canceled cash transactions by Ovalle captured on video surveillance. Ovalle pocketed the cash instead of putting money in the cash register in all eight (8) occurrences. The total value of those cash transactions was $245.00," the complaint says.

According to the criminal complaint, the owners told investigators they got a new point of sale system in their store in July 2024. They were able to review transactions back that far. When they reviewed Ovalle's cash transactions, they "found 229 canceled cash transactions between July 22, 2024 and January 31, 2025. The total cash value of those transactions was $5,300. The cash register count at the end of the day did not show a shortage because the transactions were actually canceled," the complaint says.

"…admitted she committed thefts of cash"

What we know:

Police interviewed Ovalle on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at her residence. The criminal complaint says she "admitted she committed thefts of cash from the cash register at her place of employment, Cost Cutters, in Menomonee Falls. She said she had been doing it for the past month. Ovalle indicated that she had brain surgery in 2024 and took money to help pay bills."

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

Ovalle later provided a written statement "admitting to committing approximately 239 thefts of cash between July 2024 and February 2025," the complaint says. Ovalle "admitted that any time there was a cash transaction, she would keep the money for herself and cancel the transaction," the complaint says. Officers said Ovalle "showed remorse in her statement and indicated she would do what she had to do to repay the business," the complaint says.

What's next:

Ovalle made her initial appearance in Waukesha County court on Wednesday, Feb. 19. The court ordered a signature bond of $10,000.

Ovalle is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on March 19.