Target cashiers in Atlanta reported being asked on social media to commit fraud, police said.
Suspects contacted employees online and asked if they would help activate and pretend to ring up gift cards, police spokesman Officer Lukasz Sajdak said.
The police Major Fraud Unit working with Target Asset Protection investigators set up a sting Thursday at the store on Sidney Marcus Boulevard.
“Once an agreement has been struck and the time and location set, suspects enter the store and ‘purchase’ the gift cards (in denominations of $1,000 each) at the register but tender no payment,” Sajdak said.
Surveillance cameras inside and outside the store caught Adrian Clark walking into the Target about 9 a.m., selecting 14 gift cards that he loaded for $1,000 each and didn’t pay for before leaving.
Officers arrested Clark as he got into a car where Arielle Charles, his girlfriend, was waiting.
Both Clark and Charles were charged with theft by taking. Police learned Charles also had an outstanding warrant for fraud offenses out of Suwanee.
They were in Fulton County jail waiting to be booked Monday evening.
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