Mansfield Pet Store Staffer Snagged In Refund Scheme: Warrant

MANSFIELD, CT — A former employee of a big box pet store in Mansfield is accused of fudging returns and pocketing the refunds, state police said.

Ronni Ann Cyr, 21, of East Hartford, was charged with a single count of fifth-degree larceny and three counts of sixth-degree larceny via a warrant.

The investigation began on Sept. 9, when state police received a larceny complaint from the general manager of the Petco store in Mansfield, according to a warrant. The manager said a former employee — Cyr — is accused of scheming the store out of more than $1,600 between July 29 and Sept. 3, according to a warrant.

The manager told state police that Cyr would check out customers, then wait until they exited the store and use electronic receipts to "return" items to herself, a warrant states.

According to a warrant, Examples of refunds she processed on products that were not returned include:

• $34.16 on a gift card to herself on July 29
• Four transactions paid to herself totaling $358.35 on Aug. 13
• 13 refunds paid to herself from Aug. 28 to Sept. 3 totaling $1,263.62

In all, the thefts totaled $1,656.13, according to a warrant.

Cyr gave her two weeks notice, effective during the period she made the 13 refunds to herself, according to a warrant.

Eight pages of store records implicated Cyr in the scheme, as well as video surveillance, according to a warrant. Store officials were alerted to the scheme when returns failed to match up with inventory, according to a warrant.