Teen Allegedly Stole $1 Million From Kroger

Police arrested a teen employee of a Gwinnett County Kroger, alleging that he stole nearly $1 million from the store.

The Gwinnett County Police Department confirmed in a news release that White Collar Detectives arrested Tre Brown, 19, on January 14.

Brown is accused of swindling more than $980,000 during a two-week timespan between December and January.

He apparently did it by ringing up more than 40 false returns for items that didn’t exist, placing the money on different credit cards. Those returns ranged from $75 to more than $87,000, according to the release from the Gwinnett County Police Department.

During that time, investigators believe that the Kroger employee who’s responsible for catching fraudulent purchases was on vacation.

After allegedly scamming the grocery store out of the money, Brown bought two cars, new clothing and shoes, and guns with the money, according to law enforcement officials. Brown apparently “totaled” one of the cars before he was arrested, the release states.

Corporate-level Kroger officials contacted local police once they noticed the returns that didn’t add up.

Although Kroger recovered a “large sum,” it was not immediately clear whether all of the money has been recovered, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Kroger emailed a statement to the local news outlet, thanking the Gwinnett County Police Department, but unable to comment on the open investigation.

Brown faces one count of felony theft by taking and, according to booking documents, was released from the local jail hours after he was booked on a $11,200 bond.

Photo: Gwinnett County Police Department