A manager at a Burnsville prepaid debit card company loaded up hundreds of cards for himself worth more than $155,000, using some of the money to buy equipment for a high school sports team and to treat himself to a nearly $1,700 gold chain that he had on when he was booked into jail, according to authorities.
Thomas J. Benedict, 44, of Prior Lake, was charged Thursday in Dakota County District Court with six counts of theft by swindle in connection with the scheme that spanned the several years while he worked for Rixmann Cos.
Benedict appeared in court Thursday and was released without bail ahead of another hearing on April 10. Messages were left with him seeking his response to the allegations.
The total of the suspicious transactions was $155,702.25, with more than $40,000 of it stolen between late September and early January, the charges read.
On Wednesday, Burnsville police collected from the jail's property room a thick gold chain Benedict had on when he was arrested a day earlier while leaving his home, a search warrant affidavit revealed. He surrendered the chain while being booked into the jail.
The document said Benedict bought the 22-inch, 14-karat gold Figaro chain for $1,686.99 with a CashPass prepaid debit card.
According to the criminal complaint:
Officers with Rixmann, which is the parent company of CashPass prepaid card provider and Pawn America pawnshops, alerted police to a discrepancy of roughly $24,000 between money in a bank account and funds put onto prepaid cards.