Police: Teen, Friend Stole $5,000 Worth Of Cards From Giant Eagle
COPLEY TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- A former Best Buy employee is charged in a fraud scheme involving gift cards.
NewsChannel5's partner The Akron Beacon Journal reported that 19-year old Stephen Trenta of Wadsworth was charged with theft. He worked at the Montrose Best Buy.Copley Township police said Trenta stole nearly $5,000 of Best Buy gift cards from the Wadsworth Giant Eagle and then redeemed them. The gift cards were in denominations of $100 and $500.Police said Trenta and a friend stole the Best Buy cards and then waited until they were activated by legitimate customers.Trenta was arrested Nov. 30. He was arraigned in Barberton Municipal Court and is free on bond._______________________
Best Buy ex-worker charged in gift card scheme
Wadsworth defendant and unnamed accomplice accused of taking nearly $5,000 worth
By Gina Mace
Special to the Beacon Journal
Published on Saturday, Dec 05, 2009
COPLEY TWP.: A former Best Buy employee is accused of stealing nearly $5,000 worth of gift cards from the Wadsworth Giant Eagle and redeeming them.
Stephen Trenta, 19, of Wadsworth, has been charged with theft.
Trenta was arrested Nov. 30. He was arraigned in Barberton Municipal Court and is free on bond.
Copley Township Police Detective David Moore said Trenta was employed at the Montrose Best Buy store at 96 Rothrock Road. He and a friend are accused of concocting a scheme to steal Best Buy cards from Giant Eagle, then wait until they were activated by legitimate customers.
Moore said that in one instance, 30 cards were taken from a display rack at the Giant Eagle in Wadsworth.
Fifteen cards were removed from their packaging and swapped with the other 15 cards. The 15 cards in their new packaging were then returned to the display rack.
''The activation number is in a window on the back of the display package, and on the card,'' Moore said. ''When a card was purchased [by a legitimate customer], the store clerk scanned the activation number.''
The activation numbers on the packaging actually matched the numbers on the cards that Trenta and his accomplice are accused of keeping.
''He checked online for the card to be activated, then he would make purchases
online and have the merchandise delivered either to an address or to the [Montrose] store,'' Moore said.
The gift cards were in denominations of $100 and $500.
Investigators caught wind of the fraud in early November, when Best Buy stores began hearing complaints from customers who were trying to redeem their gift cards.
Moore said Trenta admitted to taking $4,700 worth of cards.
''Some cards may have been bought as gifts, so no one has tried to use them yet,'' Moore said. ''We don't really know yet how many are out there.''
Eight additional Best Buy cards were found when Trenta was arrested.
Moore said the scam appears to be limited to cards sold at the Wadsworth Giant Eagle.
A Best Buy spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
COPLEY TWP.: A former Best Buy employee is accused of stealing nearly $5,000 worth of gift cards from the Wadsworth Giant Eagle and redeeming them.
Stephen Trenta, 19, of Wadsworth, has been charged with theft.
Trenta was arrested Nov. 30. He was arraigned in Barberton Municipal Court and is free on bond.
Copley Township Police Detective David Moore said Trenta was employed at the Montrose Best Buy store at 96 Rothrock Road. He and a friend are accused of concocting a scheme to steal Best Buy cards from Giant Eagle, then wait until they were activated by legitimate customers.
Moore said that in one instance, 30 cards were taken from a display rack at the Giant Eagle in Wadsworth.
Fifteen cards were removed from their packaging and swapped with the other 15 cards. The 15 cards in their new packaging were then returned to the display rack.
''The activation number is in a window on the back of the display package, and on the card,'' Moore said. ''When a card was purchased [by a legitimate customer], the store clerk scanned the activation number.''
The activation numbers on the packaging actually matched the numbers on the cards that Trenta and his accomplice are accused of keeping.
''He checked online for the card to be activated, then he would make purchases
online and have the merchandise delivered either to an address or to the [Montrose] store,'' Moore said.
The gift cards were in denominations of $100 and $500.
Investigators caught wind of the fraud in early November, when Best Buy stores began hearing complaints from customers who were trying to redeem their gift cards.
Moore said Trenta admitted to taking $4,700 worth of cards.
''Some cards may have been bought as gifts, so no one has tried to use them yet,'' Moore said. ''We don't really know yet how many are out there.''
Eight additional Best Buy cards were found when Trenta was arrested.
Moore said the scam appears to be limited to cards sold at the Wadsworth Giant Eagle.
A Best Buy spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
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