Columbia Mall Store Former Employee Convicted In $68K Theft Scheme: Prosecutor

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — A 40-year-old Columbia Mall store employee has been convicted of 14 counts of theft and theft scheme that took place while he was on the job.

Between Dec. 24, 2022, and Jan. 12, 2023, Antonio Jackson was involved in a month-long theft scheme where he and three associates stole nearly $68,000 dollars from a nationwide retail chain store at the Columbia Mall. Jackson was employed at the store as a sales associate in the women’s shoe department, court documents stated.

Jackson’s associates would approach him at the store and initiate fake returns for designer items. Jackson would be at the cash register and would pretend to return these products without verifying any proof of purchase or verifying that the product was present. Jackson would then credit the value of the products back onto store gift cards or credit the money to his associates’ individual debit cards, according to prosecutors. In total, there were 34 recorded incidents of theft over the course of one month.

Jackson will be sentenced on Jan.25, 2024.