A SUSPECTED thief has been arrested after she allegedly stole $3,000 from a Walmart store.
Annellyse Libby is accused of making fraudulent returns at the store in Butler, Pennsylvania.
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Cops have not revealed the items that Libby, 27, allegedly stole but the value was around $3,000, per Butler Radio.
She faces a slew of charges including retail theft, theft by deception, as well as a felony and three misdemeanors.
It comes just months after Angelo Henderson, 19, and Dyllan Lopes, 21, were charged over alleged fraudulent returns.
In March, cops in Massachusetts said that the pair had allegedly taken gift cards that they hadn’t paid for.
Henderson and Lopes allegedly used the gift cards to buy Apple goods before attempting to return them for cash.
The pair tried to return a pair of Apple AirPods as well as an Apple Watch that had just been bought, per the Raynham Police Department.
Staffers refused to complete the refund and ordered Henderson and Lopes to leave the store.
Cops said that Henderson and Lopes tried to flee on foot.
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Police said they found a shopping bag, containing the Apple Watch and AirPods they had tried to return.
Lopes and Henderson were charged with disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, and larceny over $1,200.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon is among the execs of major retailers that have warned about the impact of theft on customers.
He told CNBC in December last year: “Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been.”
He warned that prices could increase or stores might be forced to close if the problem wasn’t tackled.
Richard McPhail, the chief financial officer of Home Depot, has also blasted the scourge of shoplifting.
He told CNBC: “The country has a retail theft problem.
“We’re confident in our ability to mitigate and blunt that pressure, but that pressure certainly exists out there.”
Walmart is among the major retailers that have invested in strategies designed to combat theft.
Items such as fragrances and beauty products have been stored in cabinets, while pricier goods such as coffee machines have been wrapped in spider wrap.
Shoppers have been greeted with signs warning them about the impact of theft, according to pictures obtained by Insider.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has also unveiled a plan designed to combat the problem.
Earlier this month, Mayor Adams said: “Shoplifters and organized crime rings prey on businesses that have already taken a hit due to COVID-19″.
He states that the plan, based on the large-scale Retail Theft Report, will “beat back on retail theft through a combination of law enforcement, prevention, and intervention.”
Adams’ plan involves resource kiosks, anti-theft training for workers, and diversion programs for offenders.
https://www.the-sun.com/news/8207864/walmart-thief-arrested-returns-fraud-store/