Former Wal-Mart employee arrested for check fraud scheme in Spring

(12/06/06 - KTRK/HOUSTON) (KTRK) -- A former Wal-Mart employee is behind bars for her role in what authorities are calling a check fraud scheme.

When you write a check at Wal-Mart, you hand it to a clerk who then runs the check through an electronic scanner and hands it back to you. Unfortunately some Wal-Mart shoppers in Spring did not get their checks handed back to them and it cost them thousands of dollars.

Pam Davis never thought writing a $37 check at Wal-Mart would cost her thousands of dollars, but that's exactly what happened.

She said, "I had gone to Wal Mart and written a check for $37 and did not realize I did not get that check back, which is the custom with electronic transfer. You are supposed to receive the check back."

Davis says -- and authorities confirm -- a clerk at the Wal-Mart on Kuykendahl never returned Davis' check at the time of purchase, the clerk was able to re-run the check through the electronic reader again and again.

"Five times, they changed the amounts each time," Davis claimed. "It was almost $3,000."

On Tuesday Precinct 4 constables arrested that now former Wal-Mart clerk. Dazzie Mingo is charged with aggravated felony theft. Authorities believe Mingo gave the checks to other people who then went on shopping sprees inside the store.

Capt. Mark Herman with Precinct 4 said, "In some of the cases they were getting $300 Wal-Mart gift cards, clothing, just all kinds of purchases."

Constables say Mingo did the same thing with checks written by other Wal-Mart customers.

"Right now we definitely have four victims identified," Capt. Herman told Eyewitness News. "We have other cases that we know, that she used other accounts. We have not identified the victims in those cases yet because all we have are the account numbers."

Davis says when she contacted Wal-Mart about the fraud, the company started an investigation and Mingo left shortly thereafter.

Normally in a case like this the bank would reimburse a customer who falls victim to wire fraud. But because Davis did not discover the fraud until after 30 days had passed, the bank is not required to replace the money and Davis says Wal-Mart will not refund the missing $3,000 either.

When we asked Wal-Mart about refunding the money, all the company spokesperson would say was, "The associate is no longer with the company. Please refer to the local authorities for details."

Constables tell us more arrests could be made in this case, and they are certain there are other victims who do not yet know money is missing from their checking accounts. If you think you may have been a victim of this, call the Precinct 4 constable's office at 281-376-3472.

There are a few tips for shoppers:

• First, realize that not every store handles checks the same way but, if you shop at Wal-Mart, make sure your check is handed back to you after the clerk scans it.
• Also, keep a close eye on your checking account transactions online, or by phone. The moment you see any suspicious activity, call the bank.
• And third, try sticking with credit cards, or at least, debit cards. It's easier to challenge fraudulent transactions, and you can limit your liability for illegitimate charges

Jeff has more tips to protect yourself when paying cash, check or charge on the abc13.com Consumer Blog.

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