A 55-year-old former employee of Gallows Bay Hardware on St. Croix was arrested Tuesday for her alleged role in an embezzlement scheme involving company gift cards, the V.I. Police Department reported.
The Economic Crimes Unit launched an investigation Aug. 20 after the business owner filed a complaint alleging embezzlement by an employee, the department said in a news release. Investigators determined that the employee, Alicia Caleb, allegedly obtained gift card information from an accomplice who used his managerial authority to manipulate the company’s gift card roster. The pair then used the cards for personal gain, according to the police report.
Surveillance footage reportedly showed Caleb fraudulently pretending to cash out customers and diverting funds for herself and her accomplice, the police report stated.
Detectives served Caleb with an arrest warrant at her residence on Oct. 7 and took her into custody without incident. She was charged with embezzlement by employee, obtaining money by false pretense, grand larceny, access to a computer for fraudulent purposes, and conspiracy, the report stated
Her accomplice remains at large. Bail was set at $35,000, and Caleb was remanded to the John A. Bell Adult Correctional Facility after she was unable to post bond. She is scheduled to appear for an advice of rights hearing in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, police said.
