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On May 24, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office dispatched officers from D2 Patrol Squad 2 to the local Sam’s Club on Cortez Boulevard regarding organized fraud. A trio of former employees, suspects Amanda Elizabeth Dillon, Aurora Heredia, and Dorcaliz Ramos Garcia, all worked as guest service employees at the retail chain before being arrested and charged with felony organized fraud.
Upon their arrival, the officers met with the store system manager who noted that he was made aware of the fraudulent actions by Sam’s Club’s corporate office. According to their arrest reports, the three employees were in roles in which they were trained to conduct return actions for guests but not themselves. The transactions were confirmed to be the fault of Dillon, Heredia, and Garcia due to these actions being connected to their member identification numbers.
The transactions enacted by Dillon, a 37-year-old white female, took place over three months between January 25 and April 24, 2024, and totaled over $350 dollars ($410.42). Potter noted that they are unable to provide video footage of the incidents due to the company’s camera system only saving the last 30 days of footage. Her bond/bail was set at $2,500 and her felony court date will take place on June 27. Dillon admitted her guilt, and the case was closed.
“Amanda would systematically initiate each one of her transactions with a receipt from a prior purchase she had made and have the return value placed back onto her cards utilized during the prior purchase, which consisted of a Sam’s credit card, a Visa card, and a MasterCard,” the arrest ticket said.
Below is a list of Amanda’s 16 fraudulent returns listed by the ticket:
01/25/2024 – $23.39 was refunded for slippers.
03/25/2024 – $24.98 was refunded for premier choc and $23.52 was refunded for MM smoothie, active 24 pack.
04/08/2024 – $27.72 was refunded for heavy cream, Cheez-its, clementines.
04/10/2024 – $21.28 was refunded for sandals and $21.21 was refunded for Good Pop cans, orange juice and $60.15 was refunded for Red Bull.
04/11/2024 – $39.24 was refunded for “clxdisfwps,” hickory bacon and $17.26 was refunded for “hd foil 2pk” and $37.23 was refunded for “alani chry12,” and “13g trash frs.”
04/12/2024 – $21.26 was refunded for hybrid short, hybrid short and $22.60 was refunded for all 120ct.
04/15/2024 – $21.26 was refunded for hybrid short, hybrid short and $17.55 was refunded for Pepsi Zero 36 pack.
04/24/2024 – $22.34 was refunded for mm plate and $9.48 was refunded for “lala drinks.”
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The transactions by Aurora, a 53-year-old white female, were carried out by “returning old receipts and receiving refunds without returning the merchandise,” the arrest report said. Heredia received the payments via Sam’s Consumer Credit, EBT food stamps, cash change, and money returned on a Master Visa Card. The retail store lost a total of $178.45 over the span of a month and a half between March 16 and April 26, 2024. Aurora was never observed returning the merchandise and the lead officer observed the still shots provided.
“Aurora was seen entering the store emptied handed with a black brace on her left hand. Aurora was then observed behind the customer service counter with no one around and commit the fraudulent returns,” her arrest ticket read.
Her felony court date was also set for June 27 with a $2,500 bond, and the case was closed with Heredia’s arrest. The fraudulent returns occurred on the following dates:
03/16/24 – Nutella $15.68, “Sabrettfrk3” $14.77, Raw Shrimp $16.48
04/01/24 – Tide Pods $31.92, Salt Pretzel $2.13, Nacho Cheese $0.68, Pretzel $1.07, EBT Food stamps $0.37
04/26/24 – RTC Chicken Wings $24.98, S Dry Scalp $13.82, MM Full Zip $13.98, D100 Bake set $21.28, D100 Basket $21.28
Garcia, a 47-year-old white female, carried out her transactions by committing multiple unauthorized returns. According to the store system manager, the corporate office began investigating Dorcaliz’s returns due to 50 percent of them being on “fresh purchases” like grocery items. Potter was able to confirm Garcia’s transactions were fraudulent due to placing the funds back onto her card while never returning the merchandise.
“[Potter] described Dorcaliz initiating the transactions with a receipt of items she has previously purchased,” the arrest report continued. “[Potter] advised Dorcaliz would have remote access to previous purchase receipts through the Sam’s club mobile app [Garcia] would select the merchandise intended for return. [Potter] advised there is a payment already linked to the original purchase, therefore [Garcia] would be able to determine how to receive the refund (cash, card, store credit).”
The cost of the fraudulent charges added up to $570.18 from March 16 to April 19, 2024. There was no video surveillance available, but Garcia did offer a confession and receipts were made available as well. The transactions are as follows:
Fraud Return – $43.60
Fraud Return – $58.17
Fraud Return – $111.60
Fraud Return – $69.95
Fraud Return – $7.96
Fraud Return – $40.00
Fraud Return – $24.98
Fraud Return – $24.98
Like the others, her court date was set for June 27, her bond is $2,500 and her case was closed with her arrest. The Sun will continue to monitor the situation and provide our readers with updates when possible.
