A former Chick-fil-A employee in Texas has been arrested and charged after police accused him of carrying out an elaborate fraud involving hundreds of catering orders and tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized refunds.
The Grapevine Police Department said the suspect, identified in US media as 23-year-old Keyshun Jones, is alleged to have defrauded the fast-food chain of approximately $80,000 (£58,800) by exploiting the restaurant’s payment system.
According to investigators, Jones had been fired about a month before the incident but later returned to a Chick-fil-A branch in Grapevine. Police say he entered the restaurant, made his way behind the counter, and accessed the point-of-sale system without authorization.
Authorities allege that he processed the purchase of around 800 catering trays of mac-and-cheese before issuing refunds for the same transactions. Those refunds, police say, were directed to his personal credit cards.
Surveillance footage released by the restaurant appears to show a man wearing a brown puffer vest, blue jeans and a backwards white cap entering the store and operating a register behind the service counter. The footage suggests he was not wearing the company’s official uniform at the time.
Chick-fil-A’s catering menu lists large trays of its mac-and-cheese at approximately $100 each, depending on location. The dish, which is made with three types of cheese, is known for its high calorie content, with a single tray containing close to 10,000 calories.
Police said attempts were made to arrest Jones multiple times before he was taken into custody on 17 April. His arrest followed a joint operation involving the Texas Attorney General’s Fugitive Task Force and the Fort Worth Police Department.
He has been charged with property theft, money laundering, and evading arrest. Court records show he is currently being held at Green Bay prison in Fort Worth, Texas. His attorney has declined to comment on the case, according to US reports.
Investigators have not disclosed the reason for Jones’s termination prior to the alleged incident, and Chick-fil-A has not publicly commented on the charges. The BBC has contacted the company for a response.
The case has drawn attention due to the scale of the alleged fraud and the unusual nature of the transactions, which involved a large volume of catering orders processed in a short period.
Court proceedings are expected to continue as authorities further examine how the restaurant’s systems were accessed and whether additional charges may follow.
