Charges at Fort Mill retailer join fraud transactions costing NC company $10K
A Fort Mill retailer is the latest in a line of locations where fraudulent transactions have cost a North Carolina company more than $10,000.
Fort Mill police are investigating after three purchases, totaling almost $1,500, were made at the Lowe’s Home Improvement in town.
Martin Contracting out of Monroe, N.C. reported the charges were made at the Fort Mill store on Nov. 12 and 30 and Dec. 20 of 2018. The company contacted police Feb. 12.
The contractor has three people listed on its account with Lowe’s, requiring an approved buyer and photo ID for purchases. The company told Fort Mill police none of those three people made the purchases.
They discovered, according to the police report, about $10,000 worth of charges in cities and towns in North Carolina and South Carolina.
The charges run from last November through last month. Other locations include Charlotte, Columbia, Waynesville, N.C. and Arden, N.C.
The company is working with authorities in those locations on the case.
The Fort Mill report doesn’t list a suspect or suspects, or whether it is one person or an organized effort.
On Jan. 30, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department launched a new task force to combat organized retail crime. Part of the task force’s work involves sharing information with other jurisdictions and divisions within the Charlotte department.
Organized retail crime is an issue with companies facing losses of thousands of dollars from a single incident. The task force states Charlotte area businesses lose millions of dollars combined each year due to merchandise theft. Charlotte police investigated nearly 6,000 shoplifting cases last year, according to the task force, and cases are up 13 percent so far this year.
“We aren’t talking about kids stealing candy bars,” CMPD Lt. Rob Sprague said when the task force was announced. “The people involved in organized retail crime are walking out of stores with garbage bags full of undergarments or shopping carts full of expensive tools.”
The Fort Mill report doesn’t indicate whether someone provided identification as one of the business representatives. Police do plan to review surveillance video.
This story was originally published February 14, 2019 at 4:20 PM.
