A 61-year-old Village of Pinellas woman will avoid prosecution on a charge of grand theft after submitting proof of community service.
Madeline Perruzzi this past week in Sumter County Court submitted proof of community service that was to be performed in order for her to avoid prosecution, according to terms of a pre-trial intervention deal.
She had been arrested in July after defrauding her employer, the Lowe’s home improvement store on U.S. Hwy. 441 in Lady Lake.
The store’s loss prevention officer told Sumter County sheriff’s deputies that 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.
As part of the pre-trial intervention deal, she had also been ordered to make restitution.
