WINFIELD, W.Va. — A Putnam County teenager faces a long list of embezzlement charges after allegedly taking $5,000 worth of gift cards from Starbucks.
The Putnam County Sheriff’s Department this week charged Paige Gritt, 18, of Red House with 42 counts of computer fraud and 42 counts of misdemeanor embezzlement. According to a criminal complaint Gritt was employed by Starbucks in Teays Valley and scanned 42 Starbucks gift cards for which no payment was received.
Investigators say the time of the card scans corresponded with her work schedule and also video surveillance showed her scanning the cards and pacing them in her pocket. When questioned, Gritt told deputies she could provide bank statements proving she paid $2,000 of her own money for the cards. Deputies said those records were never provided.
The cards, ranging in value from $100 to $500 were given to various students at Buffalo High School where Gritt was a student. Deputies interviewed several of those students who received the cards and said Gritt gave them the cards “to do something nice for her friends.” Deputies were able to recover a dozen of the cards.