Southfield Man Arrested on Charges of Embezzlement from Canton Walmart

A 21-year-old Southfield man was arrested May 19 on charges of embezzlement from the Canton Walmart on Michigan Avenue, according to a police report. 

A Walmart asset protection employee told police that she was approached on May 19 by a customer service manager and asked to check the transactions from May 1, the report said.

A customer was claiming she purchased a Walmart re-loadable prepaid money card, but when she went to use the card, no funds were on it, the report said.

The asset protection employee told police that she located the transaction and that the video showed the man, a customer service associate, accept money from the customer, hand the customer a receipt and the Walmart money cards as if they had been loaded with the money he took, according to the report. 

The asset protection employee said that the cash register never opened, and the man did not place the cash in the drawer. Instead, he placed $503 on the counter near the receipt printer, helped the next customer, then took the money from the counter, folded it and put it inside his pants pocket, the report said.

Walmart confronted the man, who said he accidentally placed the money in his pocket, but had spent it since that time. The man apologized for the mistake and said he was willing to pay it back, the report said.

He was fired from the store and placed under arrest by Canton Police.