STOUGHTON, MASS. (WHDH) - An Ikea manager and two employees are facing larceny and conspiracy charges after a recall scheme cost the Stoughton store more than $65,000, police said.
The security team at Ikea reported to Stoughton police on Dec. 2 that a suspicious amount of money had gone missing from their store.
They also had reason to believe 20-year-old employee Eboni Gillard of Brockton had been involved in the scheme, prompting the company to terminate her employment, police said. She was taken into custody on an unrelated warrant.
As part of the investigation, detectives watched surveillance video that showed Gillard, 19-year-old store manager Jonathan Mejia, of Brockton, and 20-year-old employee Noah Duarte, of Brockton, taking advantage of a return policy on a recalled bureau that allowed for a full cash refund with only a piece of the recalled product brought back to the store, according to police.
Since October, the trio would allow their conspirators to come into the store with the pieces of the recalled items for cash, police said.
The transactions had to be approved by the manager, which Mejia allegedly did with all but two of the transactions. Police added that he also scheduled Duarte and Gillard to work his shift.
All three were arrested on separate dates and have been arraigned at Stoughton District Court on charges of larceny over $1,200 and conspiracy.
They were each released on personal recognizance bail.
The case remains under investigation.
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