Your complainant is aware that the Mall of America (MOA) offers a program for first responders to thank them for their service whereby first responders can obtain two free wristbands to Nickelodeon Universe and two general admission tickets to the Crayola Experience located at the MOA in Bloomington, Hennepin County, Minnesota. To redeem the passes, the first responder must go to a service desk or staffed ticketing location, must show a valid work ID, and must provide name, department, city of employment, and an email address.
Per the flyer, the tickets are valid only on the day they are picked up and not for future use. A first responder can obtain two tickets per day. Staff are supposed to place the wristbands onto the officer and their guests’ wrists. The wristbands state they are not for resale. A single wristband to Nickelodeon Universe is worth $52.49. Your complainant was made aware that Mall Security had been investigating a male, identified as GERARDO CERDA, who was obtaining multiple passes in violation of the policy over a period of months for resale.
Mall Security was made aware of the conduct after an employee reported that she recognized DEFENDANT from coming in numerous times and thought it was suspicious because he was always with different people. The employee asked DEFENDANT if he was selling the wristbands, and he responded to her that he was. DEFENDANT stated that he sells them on Facebook Marketplace. He then attempted to help recruit her with the scheme, which she declined. Your complainant investigated the matter in conjunction with Mall Security.
Per the computer records, over a 90-day period spanning August 11 to November 8, 2025, DEFENDANT and an identified female obtained 107 ride wristbands in 57 transactions on nine separate days to total $5,616.43. The records show that the dates they collected the passes were: August 2 (2), September 27 (12), October 11 (7), October 12 (2), October 18 (19), October 19 (19), October 25 (17), November 2 (8), and November 8 (21). By comparison, during that same time period, 211 wristbands were given out to all other first responders combined.
With the MOA’s video retention policies, not all the video of the transactions was available, however, your complainant reviewed video surveillance footage of DEFENDANT and the female obtaining the wristbands on October 12 through November 8. On times, DEFENDANT would use the female’s ID to get the passes. On one instance, it appears that a male that DEFENDANT is with is making a payment on his phone to DEFENDANT. Occasionally, DEFENDANT and the female would get the passes legitimately for their children.
The video footage confirmed that DEFENDANT and the female obtained 75 ride passes under false pretenses for a total value of $3,936.75 during this time period where video remained available. At the time of this conduct, the service desks where the passes were available did not have a system in place for the various kiosks to know how many passes an individual first responder was collecting, making it possible for DEFENDANT to bypass the policy of two per day. This has since been corrected. Both DEFENDANT and the female have Scott County IDs. DEFENDANT works for the Sheriff’s Department in the Programs Unit and the female used to work at the jail.
