The TJ Maxx by North Gates Drive lost over $1,600 in an embezzlement scam conducted by a female employee and a female accomplice, said Bloomington Police Department Lt. John Kovach.
The employee created fraudulent funds by having a friend collect items from throughout the store, take off the tags and bring the unpurchased items to the customer service desk. She would claim she was returning a purchased item to get a refund, Kovach said.
The employees repeated the scam six times over the past month. The employee’s friend would refund multiple different types of items, such as bedding, clothing, household items and a dog bed.
Police were contacted by someone from the store’s loss prevention office at 7:24 p.m. Wednesday evening.
