ST. GEORGE — A man suspected of stealing high-end items from two employers and then selling them on eBay was charged Thursday in 5th District Court Thursday.
Spencer Scott Holland, 39, of St. George, is charged with a second-degree felony count of theft, along with three third-degree felony counts of burglary.
The charges stem from an investigation conducted by St. George Police detectives after a manager of a retail automobile parts store called police on May 8 to report that items worth an estimated $10,000 were missing from the shop’s inventory, according to charging documents filed with the court.
Police were also told that the items were taken over a period of several months.
The store manager also said it appeared that whoever entered the store used a key to do so and knew how to use the alarm system which was deactivated on at least two occasions.
Detectives learned from the shop manager that Holland was employed at the store for more than two years and left the company a year ago to work for another business in the auto parts industry.
The manager told detectives that he located most of the stolen items on eBay, showing Holland as the seller, along with additional parts that appeared to have possibly come from Holland’s subsequent employer.
The manager then contacted that employer, who identified the merchandise being sold on eBay as the items taken from the business.
Holland was terminated and returned what was left of the stolen items to the business and no charges were filed in that incident.
According to the statement, items matching the missing merchandise from the first company were being sold on eBay and another website. Police obtained a warrant to search Holland’s residence.
While searching a shed and surrounding area police located several items that appeared to have been stolen from the parts store. Items were also located in Holland’s truck, car and under the side awning on his home.
During police questioning, Holland allegedly admitted to taking items from his past employer on more than 10 occasions while working there.
Then, using a key he copied while still employed at the business, he entered the store on at least three occasions to take property that, according to Holland, had a value of $4,000 to $5,000.
He then sold the items online for a fraction of the retail value.
He was arrested and taken to Purgatory Correctional Facility.
This report is based on statements from police or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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The fraud/Theft triangle according to associations of Fraud Examiners, Certified Public Accountants, and internal auditors consist of 3 things. 1) the pressure to commit fraud, (2) the opportunity to commit fraud, and (3) the rationalization of committing the fraud.
Employers in the area pay stripped down wages which pressures their employees financially, they then have 0 job design which also means no segregation of duties, no hard and soft controls. They have incomplete bookkeeping and what they do have is bare minimum and typically incorrect. Then the idiot employee’s sit there and rationalize it out by thinking about how they do the job of 3 people and paid for less than one so who is really stealing from who?
If cheap labor is the risk you are willing to take then enjoy the risks that come with it. These employers were obviously very dumb and easy marks… IE Not pressing charges?? WOW… Just wow… Title this story Dumb and Dumber.