Phoenixville Woman Charged with Stealing $10K From Employer

By  Brittany Tressler 

A 28-year-old Phoenixville woman is facing charges including theft by deception, receiving stolen property and tampering with records. Nicole Silver is accused of stealing nearly $10,000 from her employer, Giant Food Store in Limerick. Limerick Township Police say she completed fraudulent transactions with no customers present.

Police say Giant Food Store, located on South Township Line Road in Limerick, contacted Limerick police on Thursday regarding the theft of $9,814.33 at the store.

As part of the investigation, police say they found that Silver had been stealing from the store since February 2 by abusing after-sale coupons, a coupon presented to the store by a customer after an item was purchased, and returns of consortium gift cards—third-party gift cards such as MasterCard or Visa.

Police say it is against Giant policy to refund a gift card without a manager’s approval. Police say Silver processed 47 return transactions regarding the gift cards since Feb. 28, though no customers were present at the time. Silver moved to various cash registered throughout the store to complete the transactions, police said.

Over seven months, police say Silver returned gift cards ranging from $20 to $500, totaling $9,586.33.

Police say Silver stole $228.25 by cashing in after-sale coupons with no customer present at her register between August 2 and 12. The after-sale coupon thefts ranged from $10 to $62.64, according to police.

Silver was sent to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility on $5,000 bail.