Four teenagers arrested after being caught in plot to steal thousands from Walmart

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OCALA, Fla. (WCJB) - A group of Michigan teens involved in a ‘confusion scheme’ were arrested Sunday in Ocala.

Two 19-year-olds, along with three minors, traveled to Marion County to carry out the scheme.

Four of the five teens were arrested on seven counts of organized fraud, which is a felony. One was not charged for lack of evidence.

Walmart employees at the SW 19th Ave. Rd. location, told police the teens went to different cashiers, made multiple transactions, and verbally manipulated the cashiers into entering data on the registers that would result in the suspects receiving cash back.

All of them went to purchase candy, telling the cashiers that the debit card they were using was a type of military card.

“The correct way to explain this is organized fraud. It was these teens who had a scheme to confuse the cashier into giving them money fraudulently,” OPD Public Information Officer, Jeff Walczak said.

The teens were identified using Walmart surveillance video. Officers later found all five at the Walmart on E Silver Springs Blvd. They had also been to the Walmart on Bahia Avenue.

“We know that they’ve done this before multiple times in other areas and they were caught here in Ocala,” Walczak said.

Collectively they had more than $10,000 in cash and multiple transaction receipts from various Walmart locations.

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