GHENT, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A woman was arrested after allegedly embezzling nearly 10K from a Par Mar Store in Ghent, WV.
On August 13th, 2024, Corporal S.M. Thompson, hereafter referred to as the undersigned officer, responded to a fraud complaint at Par Mar Store #179 located at 3301 Flat Top Mountain Road in Ghent.
Upon arrival, the undersigned officer spoke with the Director of Operations for ParMar Stores. He reported that an employee, Maggie Hansford, had been engaged in an embezzlement scheme from July 12th to August 11th, 2024.
Ms. Hansford allegedly issued dozens of fraudulent cash refunds for merchandise that had not been sold. She then pocketed some of the refunded cash, stored some in the register, and used some to purchase scratch-off lottery tickets. Ms. Hansford then played the fraudulently obtained lottery tickets and awarded the cash prizes to herself before leaving with the money at the end of her shifts.
The total value of the fraudulent refunds issued by Ms. Hansford during this period was found to be over $8,500. Video surveillance footage from August 10th and 11th clearly showed Ms. Hansford conducting 24 fraudulent return transactions totaling approximately $2,191.75.
The undersigned officer also discovered that Ms. Hansford had utilized the fraudulently obtained cash to purchase and cash in 26 invalid lottery tickets, netting herself $320 in winnings. Under West Virginia law, the use of canceled or stolen lottery tickets for prize disbursement is illegal.
This multifaceted scheme involved Ms. Hansford’s abuse of her position of trust as a store clerk to embezzle funds and engage in fraudulent activities. ParMar Stores is working to provide additional evidence of suspect transactions from the earlier July-August time period.
