On March 3, 2025, Waite Park Investigator Wentland received a complaint regarding an employee theft from three Subway stores operating in the Waite Park and St. Cloud areas within Stearns County, Minnesota. Investigator Wentland spoke with one of the owners, R. A. T., fully identified in the reports. R. A. T. Stated that former employee Karen Marie Weeks, [DOB REDACTED], the defendant herein, had been stealing from cash deposits beginning in December 2021. He said they confronted her the first time and she admitted stealing the cash and agreed to pay it back through wage garnishments.
He said she stole again between August 2022 and December 2022. She admitted to the theft and began paying back the amount through wage garnishments. The defendant stole a third time between August 2024, and October 2024. She continued having her wages garnished up until she quit working for Subway in November 2024. R. A. T. Said she has not made any payments since then and they are still owed $13,384.80 in stolen cash. Investigator Wentland received documentation from the bookkeeper, A. F., regarding the three theft periods.
Investigator Wentland learned that the defendant was the district manager and had been employed by Subway since 2020. She had many responsibilities, including making cash deposits multiple times a week as directed by the point of sale system. The deposits varied by store and the amount of customers each location had. The point of sale system provided notification when cash needed to be removed from the till. The cash was placed in the store safe until the deposit was made, which could occur multiple times a day.
Each sale and deposit was documented in the point of sale system. In 2021, the store deposits were not matching what the point of sale system was indicating. The calculated loss between December 2021, and January 2022 was $12,945.25. The defendant was asked about it and she confessed that she took some cash to pay for personal expenses. She signed a repayment agreement and began paying the money back through her wages every two weeks. Between August 2022, and December 2022, it was discovered that the deposits were not matching with the point of sale system.
The calculated loss during this time was $32,204.26. The defendant confessed again to taking the cash, signed a repayment agreement, and began paying the amount back through her wages. Between August 2024, and October 2024, the deposits were again not matching the point of sale system. The calculated loss during this time was $3,418.79. The defendant quit her position with Subway in November 2024 but continued to stay in contact about repaying the amount she took. However, the defendant did not make any additional payments after quitting, leaving Subway with a loss of $13,384.80. Included in the documentation Investigator Wentland received were emails between the defendant, Subway owners and A. F., where the defendant admits to taking the money from the company and expresses her willingness to make payments toward the amounts taken.
