3 Ex-BP Clerks Face Theft Charges, Stole $117K From Manhattan Minit Mart: Police

MANHATTAN, IL — Three employees of a Manhattan convenience store face felony charges after police said they stole nearly $117,000 from the business over a period of time by activating gift cards that were sold at the store without paying for them, police said.

Manhattan Police issued warrants for the three women who worked at the Manhattan BP Minit Mart. All of the women were either arrested or turned themselves in to police after the warrants were issued last week. The arrests came two months after the three clerks were fired by the Minit Mart's parent company, Manhattan Police told Patch on Thursday.

Casey Cast, 24, of Shorewood, was arrested at her home last week and was charged with felony theft in the amount of between $10,000 but less than $100,000, according to charging documents, and was released after posting $2,500 bond.

Sarah Biggerstaff, 28, of Joliet, was charged with felony theft of between $500 and $10,000 and posted bond of $2,000 after turning herself into police.

Haley Sullivan, 25, of Elwood, was arrested at the scene of a traffic stop and was charged with felony theft between $10,000 and less than $100,000 and remains in custody on $93,000, booking records from the Will County Jail show.

Manhattan Police Commander Mike Holford told Patch on Thursday that the three came under suspicion earlier this fall after the company that issues the gift cards to BP did not receive payment for the cards, which had been processed at the Manhattan convenience store.

Holford said the activity began earlier this year and took place over two months, during which time surveillance footage shows the three former employees activating the gift cards and not paying for the cards by depositing cash or other forms of payment into the Minit Mart's cash register.

In each case, the clerks would then leave the convenience store with the gift cards in their possession.

He said when the gift card company contacted the Minit Mart's corporate office as to why they had not received payment for the cards, BP said they had no record of the cards being purchased. The fact that two separate companies were involved created the delay in the women being caught, Holford said. But once the gift card company discovered they had not been paid for the gift cards, it prompted an internal investigation, which led to the three women being fired in October, Holford said.

The corporate office then asked police to investigate the matter for possible criminal charges. After poring over hundreds of hours of video footage, still images, and spreadsheets, Manhattan police turned the case over to the Will County State's Attorney's Office, which issued the warrants that led to the trio being arrested last week.

All three women declined to speak with police about their activities, Holford told Patch on Thursday.

"If I worked there, I would know I was under surveillance," Holford said. "So I guess the bigger question we had...if you knew you were being videotaped, why would you try to commit such a crime? But we didn't get the opportunity to get those answers."