Employees at a local Hardee’s in Indiana were reportedly using customers’ debit card information to bail inmates out of prison.
According to police, some staff of the La Porte County Jail noticed last month that large sums of money had been transferred from outside the jail into inmates’ communication system accounts.
The prisoners allegedly used the money left in their system accounts to load a jail-issued debit card after they had bonded out of jail.
Authorities said they had discovered a plan involving “a few” of Hardee’s workers, who reportedly photographed drive-through customers’ debit and credit cards in August and September of this year.
“The investigation uncovered a complex fraudulent scheme,” the sheriff’s office told reporters. “Essentially, the La Porte County Jail and Securus were utilized by the arrestees to launder fraudulent monies – dirty money was deposited into the system and clean money eventually came out on the backside.”
Chief of Detectives Capt. Andy Hynek initiated a formal investigation and found a network that included employees at a Hardee’s restaurant in Michigan City.
The money was then fraudulently transferred into the system accounts of inmates who had “low bond amounts,” as per police. It was said that the prisoners who got the money would bond out of jail “almost immediately” after receiving the funds.
“After leaving the jail, the former inmates were transported to area ATMs where the remaining balance on the jail issued debit card was withdrawn,” the sheriff’s office continued.
The fraudulent charges reportedly totaled $14,700. Police did not disclose the address of the Hardee’s restaurant, but there is only one location in the city, which is on Franklin Street.
“The victims, who originally went to purchase food at the drive-thru of the Hardee’s, are working with their financial institutions to have the funds returned to them,” the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities said that the Fugitive Apprehension Street Team and Warrants Division, with support from the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Fugitive Task Force arrested four of the suspects, while five other suspects were also taken into custody.
“We are very fortunate Captain Hahn, and the Jail Administration caught the irregularities shortly after they began to occur before more citizens were victimized,” the sheriff’s office continued.
