A $35,000 shopping spree on Amazon landed a Monticello woman in jail after her former employer noticed the charges on the company’s credit card, authorities say.
Yadira Velazquez, 33, of Monticello turned herself in at Eatonton Police Department on July 13, where she was booked on charges of financial transaction card fraud and felony theft by deception, according to jail records.
A representative of Legacy Housing in Eatonton reported to Eatonton Police Department that Velazquez had worked at the housing manufacturer for four years, until March of this year.
During her employment, Velazquez had access to the company’s credit card, “but it was only to be used for company business and only when (her boss) directed her to do so,” Eatonton Police Officer Ernest Spikes wrote in his report.
However, charges were still being made on the card after Velazquez’s departure.
According to the incident report, the employer reported the fraudulent charges to the credit card company, and an investigator with the creditor told him charges were being made and shipped through an Amazon account belonging to Velazquez. The charges were being shipped to a Monticello address, which turned out to be her residence.
Officer Spikes phoned Velazquez and asked her to come to Eatonton Police Department to discuss the matter. She complied and admitted the Amazon account was hers and also admitted she purchased the items.
“Mrs. Velazquez stated that she did not realize she was purchasing the items with the stolen financial transaction card information, but only realized it when she received an email advising her that the charges were being disputed,” Spikes wrote in his report.
When Spikes asked Velazquez why she didn’t notify her former supervisor about the purchases, she stated she was scared he would contact the police.
Velazquez gave written permission for investigators to search her home and a shed behind her house and $2,000 worth of the items were recovered, “which is nowhere near the $35,000 she took,” Police Chief Howell Cardwell said.
Velazquez was released from Putnam County Jail on a total of $18,000 cash bonds.