A 61-year-old Village of Pinellas woman was arrested after allegedly defrauding her employer.
Sumter County sheriff’s deputies were called Wednesday to Lowe’s on U.S. Hwy. 441 in Lady Lake. The store’s loss prevention officer told deputies that an employee, Madeline Perruzzi, had made fraudulent returns by purchasing Visa gift cards and refunding them for cash. The total amount of fraudulent returns amounted to $1,637.12, according to an arrest report from the sheriff’s office.
Perruzzi admitted to making the fraudulent returns and said she had done so because she needed the money to pay off her son’s student loan, some personal bills and for food.
She was arrested on a felony charge of grand theft and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center. She was released after posting $2,000 bond.