Taco Bell worker in SC accused of credit card fraud: police

A Taco Bell worker splurged on footwear, a cellular phone and electric scooter rides utilizing credit card information she stole from customers, according to South Carolina authorities.

Laquawanda Hawkins, 36, worked the generate-through at a Taco Bell in Hartsville where by law enforcement said she took pics of customers’ payment playing cards, in spite of her supervisor remaining just a number of ft away.

Police also pointed to surveillance video clip displaying Hawkins in the act.

An “assistant supervisor positively determined Hawkins as the personnel functioning the drive-through and committing the thefts,” Hartsville officers wrote in a report acquired by McClatchy News. “She is so brazen and slick about it that she even does it when the manager is ideal powering her stocking cabinets.”

Hawkins was arrested June 17 on many counts of identification fraud, credit rating card amount theft and acquiring goods fraudulently acquired, according to the police report. She was booked into the Darlington County Detention Centre and introduced a few times afterwards right after putting up a $60,000 bond.

Officers ended up initially alerted to the alleged thefts on June 6 immediately after a target found unauthorized prices on her lender card just after checking out the Taco Bell travel-through, in accordance to the report. A duplicate of her statement confirmed the fraudster attempted swiping her card at Pizza Hut and applied it at an automobile sections retailer, in addition to racking up extra than $630 in Bird Scooter rentals.

At the very least two other victims arrived forward with equivalent issues of fraudulent rates, law enforcement reported. Just one of them submitted a law enforcement report immediately after their card facts was used to spend a metropolis water invoice. A point out driver’s license submitted with the payment belonged to Hawkins, according to authorities.

“There was also other rates created to the card … for Chook Scooters, McDonald’s and a grocery pickup from Walmart,” officers wrote.

Hawkins was brought in for questioning on June 17 and acknowledged having images of credit rating and debit card numbers immediately after slipping driving on her hire and utilities, the law enforcement report states. She denied sharing the figures with any one else but stated it was feasible her are living-in boyfriend observed the photographs on her cellphone.

Hawkins also acknowledged obtaining “some shoes” and new phone on the internet, nevertheless she denied obtaining “as a great deal things as (the victims) claimed,” officers wrote.

When asked if other Taco Bell staff had stolen customers‘ credit score card details, Hawkins replied, “Probably.”

Taco Bell Corp. said it is knowledgeable of the incident and usually takes “customer privateness seriously.”

“The franchise owner and operator is operating with the community authorities and has knowledgeable us that the workforce member is no lengthier with the group,” a enterprise spokesperson instructed McClatchy Information in a statement.

Hartsville is about 70 miles northeast of Columbia.

This story was initially posted June 23, 2022 12:59 PM.