Circuit City (CC) employees charged with $50,000 theft

When a company publicly states its intent to jettison 3,400 employees to make room for 'cheaper' ones, perhaps it can make enemies out of its own employees? That thought entered my mind when I saw that three employees of a Circuit City Stores, Inc. (NYSE: CC) retail location in Modesto, California were arrested this past week for using customer credit cards to steal over $50,000 in merchandise from the nation's second-largest consumer electronics retailer.

Apparently, the three employees in question (ages 23, 19 and 19) stole a 42-inch plasma television, xbox 360 and other higher-end electronics. Circuit City store management became suspicious earlier in the year when some large-ticket purchases lacked basic customer information. As it turned out, the employees were using credit information from legit customers in order to use existing credit lines to fraudulently purchase the products.

After an internal investigation, managers from the location approached Modesto police and the arrests were made. It appears that the customers who had their credit information looted were unaware that their good names and credit were used to pilfer tens of thousands worth of electronics goods. As the police investigation continued, other names were apparently brought up and officials now suspect even more employees may have been involved.