When you’re in a desperate situation, stealing might seem like a great way to temporarily solve your problems. If you can just grab some food off the shelf at Walmart, you’ll find a way to pay for what you need tomorrow. Or if you can manage to swipe some bills from a cash register, you won’t have to worry about where your next few meals will come from. 

The problem with this, however, is that you’re almost always going to get caught. Below, you’ll find a story that one man recently shared on Reddit detailing why he’s considering calling the cops on his employee’s partner, as well as a conversation between the business owner and Bored Panda.

It’s always wise for business owners to have CCTV in their shops

Image credits: anankkml / Envato Elements (not the actual photo)

After this man noticed he was missing a large amount of cash, his cameras proved exactly who the culprit was

Later, the business owner shared an update on the situation

Image credits: r0ckafellarbx

Image credits: Matt Popovich / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

“I will call the police if they set foot on the property”

To find out more about this situation, we reached out to the business owner who shared this story, Reddit user R0ckafellarbx. He was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and explain what’s happened since he made this post. “I did get some of the money back. She gave me a bundle of cash of mixed bills when she stopped by my business at around 7:30 a.m.,” he revealed. “I had been up all night trying to arrange the drop-off.”

The OP also shared that he had updated his original post to share more details, but it has since been removed. “As I stated in the update, I reviewed footage from the previous nights and learned that the night before this incident the younger girl stole some cash as well,” he told Bored Panda.

“In all likelihood, the cash that she stole the previous night was not included in this bundle of cash. I know the exact amount that was taken in the night I posted about because I had photographs of that night’s cash receipts,” he continued. “I have video evidence that she stole something, but it’s hard to make out the amount. I suspect a bundle of ones, which would make it $100. I haven’t counted the bundle yet, so I can’t confirm if it matches with my records.”

The business owner also noted that he hasn’t called the police yet, but he told his employee that his wife and her daughters are banned from the shop. “I will call the police if they set foot on the property,” he added. “I’m still debating whether I should report her to the police. I’m leaning towards it, but I have to download all the recordings to get it ready, should I decide to go that way.”

Image credits: Towfiqu barbhuiya / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

“I really didn’t have any issues with either of them prior to this incident, but I was aware that they were struggling financially”

We were also curious how well R0ckafellarbx knew this employee prior to this incident. “I’ve known my employee for about 3 or 4 years. He’s mostly a quiet guy and works hard. I know he was using some drugs before he worked for me. I think he used marijuana and alcohol, but seems to be sober for several years now,” the OP shared. 

“I met his partner about six months ago, and if my math is correct, she was already pregnant with his child.” He also added that the woman’s 9 and 10-year-old daughters are not the employee’s children.

The business owner is unsure if his employee knew his partner was planning on stealing from him, but he suspects that he must have known something was amiss. “As I was working to get the cash back during the early morning hours, I called him, and he played dumb, as if he didn’t have an idea of what money I was referring to,” he shared.

“I really didn’t have any issues with either of them prior to this incident, but I was aware that they were struggling financially and getting into debt,” the OP continued. “I have to think about those types of things because it’s a big motivator for theft.”

Image credits: mauriciotoro10 / Envato Elements (not the actual photo)

“People shouldn’t feel that they can get away with it, or I’ll face the same thing again shortly”

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Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time he’s dealt with theft in his shop. “I’ve had employees steal from me before. In that case, it was a cashier who was returning phantom items and pocketing the cash. She also suspended sales, never completing the transactions, and accepted the money while never giving out receipts,” he explained. “Which is why retailers often have signs that say, ‘your purchase is free if you’re not given a receipt’; they want to root out employee theft.”

In that case, the OP says he couldn’t prove the exact amount that was taken, but he did have evidence that she was not following the correct procedures. “So I just fired her. In retrospect, I should have called the police, so that I could signal to others that I would involve law enforcement,” he shared. “Which is why I’m seriously considering it now. People shouldn’t feel that they can get away with it, or I’ll face the same thing again shortly. I’ve had customers steal as well, but like in most businesses, the employees are the biggest thieves.”

He’s right. According to Embroker, a whopping 75% of employees admit to stealing from their bosses at least once. Employees are also responsible for 90% of all significant theft losses in companies. Cash theft is the top cause of employee theft for over a fifth of companies, and 60% of workers admit that they would steal from their boss if they knew they wouldn’t get caught.

As for whether or not the young girl knew that her mother was stealing, the business owner has no doubts that she did. “It was part of a well crafted plan. I have video of them talking about me and pointing to me to set the plan in motion,” he shared. “As I reviewed the video, I was amazed at the coordination. I was completely in the blind while they plotted around me.”

Image credits: Possessed Photography / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

“I suspect that these were not the first two times they stole money”

He also went into detail about how the mother-daughter duo pulled it off. “It’s a retail business. I have a locked office that I usually secure and where I count cash. I was in the office working when the little girl asked me to ring up her mom,” the OP shared. “After she asked me, she hid behind some shelves and boxes. I didn’t leave my office right away because I was busy.”

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“When she realized that I didn’t ring her mom up quickly enough, she came out of hiding and told me it was urgent and she hid again,” he continued. “I then left my office and left the door ajar. When I left, she came out of her hiding space. She followed me a bit to assure that I was gone and she entered my office and swiped the money, tucking it under her sweatshirt.”

“The little girl then went back to her hiding spot to arrange the money better in her sweatshirt,” the OP explained. “A few seconds later, the older sister went into my office but didn’t find much and left, closing the door behind her. All of this is on tape, which is how I pieced it all together. The amount she stole that night was in the thousands.”

“When the mom returned the money, she placed all of the blame on the girl and told me that she had spanked her as punishment,” R0ckafellarbx revealed. “I don’t buy it for a second that the mom wasn’t behind everything. I suspect that these were not the first two times they stole money. I just can’t prove it. They seemed just too polished and cool and collected about it. Like they had experience.”

We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, pandas. Then if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda piece discussing theft in the workplace, look no further than right here!  

Readers called out the mother for her actions and encouraged the business owner to file charges

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