Everybody. You know, that's everybody. But, when it comes to theft, that's not me. I don't Yeah, that's why this right here was very shocking to me. To me, I'm like, I don't take anything. I don't You know, I don't know. I told her she could search my vehicle. She like, "Look, it's like the day the bag fell under the car." I I walked out. We looked to be checking my vehicle. I'm like, "I DON'T HAVE NOTHING. I AIN'T COMING OUT. I GOT NOTHING. I DON'T TAKE NOTHING. I don't If you don't think it was that amount, then you can argue that it wasn't that that much money and all that, okay? But, I'll also call Crystal and verify everything, too. Okay. All right. So, it's not the end of the road. So, not the end of the world. It's just you have to deal with this On August 21st, 2024, Boynton Beach Police Department detectives conducted a voluntary interrogation into the theft of nearly $6,000 in cash deposits from a Dollar Tree store in Palm Beach County, Florida. The subject, 43-year-old Nelson Mark, had been employed as store manager for fewer than 4 weeks. She was not under arrest. She came in on her own. That distinction is the foundation of everything that follows legally. 795 Hi. Hi. Careful with that. That's your car. Yeah. Thank you. You're good. Um you can come with me. I'm Crystal, by the way. We'll talk about it when we're done. Okay. Stay over here. Okay, so tell me what happened. So, um I get an email like we verify when we're in our stores our deposits, but usually our Treasury Department finds like a missing deposit before us, like within a week. They'll flag on an email telling us that it hasn't been validated through the bank. So, I started to receive emails um quickly it was like two, then it became three, it was four. Um right now I'm up I have six um and it's going to be six in total. This store manager, she just started here on July 29th. It was her first day in this store. So, like she trained with us for 5 weeks at another location um and came here. By 8/4, I'm missing my first deposit. So. So, it's July 29th she started at this location. Yeah. Okay. And then um you said she trained for 5 weeks at another location? >> Yeah. Um but like in the capacity of manager? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, so she was social. But was she with the company before? No. Okay. So, she got hired in hired in as a manager and then she was training. Yeah, so she finished her So, this is like the first time being solo. >> Yes, unattended, right? Unattended. By Wednesday I came in here to the store to meet with her and my asset protection manager came and met us as well to discuss what was going on with the deposits with her. Mhm. So, she said she took all these deposits to the bank, that they're all going to be in the bank. She's very mild-tempered, not really getting upset easily. So, that was on the 14th on the Wednesday you came in? >> on Wednesday. >> did like a little investigation and then on Wednesday you met with her. Yeah. Okay, with along with asset protection. Okay. And so, you guys discussed it with her? Yeah, she knows. Yeah, she knows. Okay, so and and then I'm sorry, so then what did she say to you guys? She was very like she was very mild-tempered. I mean, she wasn't argumentative, she wasn't anything. She wasn't riled up or any There was She was very calm and said I took them to the bank. Like I signed them out, I took them all to the bank, they're all going to be at the bank. And you know, even after he left, I continued to talk to her a little bit one-on-one. Like maybe you changed purses or bags that you brought to work. Don't you want to go check your car, double check? Like, if you were taking multiples at a time, one could slide out at a red light. Double check. And she's like, "I know they're not in there. Like, I took them to the bank." And she's just very confident, but not really doesn't care to help her, look her, you know, do anything for it as far as that. And even like the day before, because I was um across town, I sent the man at the store manager that trained her. She's right up the road, so I sent her on Tuesday to meet with this store manager and go over the deposits. And I had her stop at the bank, see if there was anything going on. And she was very, you know, casual with her. Really not too worried about it. Um the biggest red flag for me right away was that store manager stressed to her, like, "Okay, you're coming in tomorrow. You're scheduled at 12:00." Meaning Wednesday. Um make sure you go to the bank before you go to your store, cuz you need to resolve the missing deposits are they should be validated by the bank right away the next day. You need to talk to a bank manager and not a teller. Um find out what's going on. So, she didn't know we were going to be in her store on Wednesday, but like she came walking in with a bag of McDonald's. She didn't care. I asked her, "Have Did you go to the bank before you came here?" >> And that was on Tuesday? Uh no, on Wednesday. Like, when I was physically in the store with her. >> Right. But she was supposed to go there on Tuesday the She was supposed to go Wednesday, like, before she came in, cuz she came in at 12:00 that Wednesday. So, she She doesn't need to go to the bank at that point. So, in my head I'm like, "Well, you don't want to go talk to the bank because you know, they don't really have the deposits, right?" So. Yeah. Otherwise, why not go and try to find out where your And is the policy to like every night go and deposit? Like Yes, they're supposed to go daily. >> hold on to it. Like, you can't hold on to it till the next day or you can't keep four deposits and then Yeah, so technically they should be taking them daily, right? Um and if the person that's closing at night doesn't have a vehicle or isn't able to go to the bank, then we would take it right away the next morning. Mhm. So, for whatever reason she's skipping days right away of not going to the bank each day and then taking multiples. And um I mean, do you know anything about her any prior like work history or where she came from? Do you know anything about this person? >> So, um I I mean, we do a background check. I don't see the results of that like the other HR department would see the results. All I know is that they pass or fail. So, she passed the background check and that's how she was able to come on board. She stated that she was the store manager of What is it? Across the street? Maybe a Didi's Discount uh City Trends? I think maybe that's what it was. Like she was the store manager of City Trends across the street. Um so, I think that's where she came from previous to working here. But no, she worked with me for a very short time, so I don't know much about her at that point. Um And no um no issues that you're aware of like from her time in training or anything? No. Okay. So, she's writing on this report what day she goes to the bank. So, those are the days that we've created the deposits. So, then what we're saying is they sat in the in the safe for a couple days. So, this is the day that the computer or somebody physically created the deposit, but these are the dates that she's saying that she actually went to the bank and dropped them off and the time. Oh. So, that's how she's taking or accumulating multiples because it's like a couple days built up before we're going to the bank to drop them off. That's what it is. So, we have them. So, she ended up taking them all. She told me about what time she went to the bank in each day and because obviously she's confident they're going to see her on the camera because I have each day some deposits I get validated. So, then this is where I write in like that it's validated from the bank after that. Um So, these these ones that are missing that are not validated, are missing. Yes. Yeah. So, when I had partnered with the bank, um I went through and tried to see if uh like any of the vague numbers the deposit vague numbers were processed, just to see if maybe there was just a completely wrong amount that was deposited, anything like that. So, they printed me a copy of what had been deposited since the I guess the 5th till the day I received the paper and they don't like those deposit bags aren't there. Um the amounts aren't there. So. Looks like I'm And that's what I got from the bank yesterday. So, I've been like dealing with the bank this whole time just trying to make sure before we filed a police report. And when I like when I talked to Mel and about this situation, like at first there was 10. Well, not that hit my reporting yet, but but when I came in here, like I still was missing and that's why these are all highlighted. Like at the time when I'm coming to talk to her, like these three were missing. And I mean, she just spent a whole time like looking at this and she's like, "Well, these are there." Like these these are there. I know I just took these on Monday. Like so, she focused more on these and I'm still missing one from this group, right? So, she took four, I got three back, three validated by the bank and I'm missing um the largest one of those. Um but like that's all she was like focused on. I was like, "Okay, well, I'm talking to you about 10. So, I need to know that all 10 went missing. Even if I had one missing at this point, it would be a problem, right?" So, like I would try to like redirect direct the conversation. She was just focused on that day and I was like, "Oh, shoot." And money's something to be about. That's never happened. I worked without a team for 20 years. I've never hired somebody who just not in that role. Like I could have some other assistant managers who get paid a lot less than me and have taken something right away, but not a store manager. Mhm. So, it's different for me, but I got a suspension letter. >> she just was not emotional about it at all or just not showing any sort of Yeah, like just so nonchalant like to the bank. Like it's serious and my asset protection said like I'm going to be here Friday to call the police if these deposits don't get to the bank and she was still just very casual. And like she showed up for work so I thought you know that it maybe they're going to show up or she's going to pay them back and get them into the bank quickly or something but So on that Wednesday after that conversation was that when she was placed on like leave or what was the situation? >> So I came I came on Friday and put her on leave. Okay. So when she showed up for her shift that's when she was placed on leave on the 16th. >> Yeah, on Friday the 16th, yeah. So I met her in like the afternoon and then And is she like suspended with pay without pay? Without pay. Okay. Obviously we have to ask you does the company want to prosecute? >> Yes. >> Okay. All right. Raise your right hand for me. You swear affirm that everything that you told me everything that we spoke about is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Yes. >> Okay. After detectives speak with the bank, get subpoenas and complete their investigation, Nellen comes in for an interview a couple months later. Have you been in one of these rooms before? No. Okay. You ever seen them on TV? 48 Hours? Maybe, yeah. You know you're in the interview room when you're in the back. So we're in the big room now. We're in the lobby. We appreciate you coming by to help us Okay. No problem. Yeah, at this point honestly we're just trying to close it out. Um We're just trying to figure out what happened. Um Dollar Tree was concerned about some of their money and that's why we're we're involved, okay? So you know what we're talking about. Yeah, my um I guess Crystal said she >> District manager, yeah. She had told she cuz she had asked me today came anybody reach out to me and I told her no. Okay. Until now, yeah. Yeah, so when did you actually start working there? Um, thinking June for training. June? Out that one store, yeah. And it wasn't at that location, right? No. Okay. So, you get there in June and then what happened when when did you start working over at the the local one over here? Well, I did like 5 weeks in training. So, I probably didn't start there maybe today maybe end of July, I'm thinking. Okay. Yeah. So, at the end of July you start working there? >> I think I Yeah. And what was your like job title over there? Store manager. Nice. Right from the get-go? Hm? Training Well, I mean That's pretty good. >> Yeah. I trained I mean, I told myself, okay, when we get into Dollar Tree to start, but you know, it is it was different from what I was expecting. >> yeah. Yeah, especially the store that they gave me, so And that's the boring store, right? Oh, yeah. Sorry for that. Typical boring. And then everyone in there really spoke English, so Yes. That makes it difficult. Um, yeah, so she was talking about I guess it was six different deposits. What what happened with those? Do you Do you know which ones they are? Um, No. I guess like August 3rd, 4th, two on the 4th, one on the 6th, one on the 10th. Do you know what happened to Did you deposit the the one she was talking about? Like I Like I told I said, whatever deposit it leave in the safe, I think cuz apparently the one manager, okay, cuz to me I'm not used to pick taking deposits and take to the bank. This is my first time Okay. And then when I go to the bank, the teller say I have to drop it in a drop box. Even though it's there there, but I have to drop it in the drop box. >> Okay. So, and there's no key or nothing, so basically just pull and drop everything in there. So, the days that I'm So, from between from the weekends for Friday Friday I leave from Saturday, so the deposits there from the I guess from the mid managers the night and then Sundays I'm off, so by the time I come Monday it'll be multiple deposits in the safe. Okay. Which the I heard the night manager supposed to drop, she doesn't go drop it. So basically I have to take them and go drop them in the night deposit. Which I truly do. Like I told Crystal, I said, "Well, I don't know, you know, y'all giving me a store one. Every I mean most everybody don't speak English, nobody's dropping nothing. I come my first day there was already five bags in the safe." >> Mhm. So and then yeah, we have to sign. Majority of them don't sign. So basically I'm signing cuz I'm taking everything. Like I said, I take everything I drop them in the second in the night deposit. I don't know nothing else. This is my first time. Okay. And You know, you know, y'all see me you know, if y'all see me in the camera Okay, like I told her, "Check the bank cameras." Like I don't know. This is my first time. So I don't know what was the deal, what's going on, what's missing. Yeah. But you know, like I told her, "You can search my car, you can search, you know, I don't you know Now you you came running. You said, "How can I help you?" >> a new person. >> Right. You know, I just started. This is I never had this issue, never had this problem. I worked for Sears for five years. Like I never had a issue. I've been as a store manager. I never dealt with nothing with money. I don't steal money. Why would I take your money? I'm new to the store. Now y'all taking deposits. I said if they're sitting there there's an issue. So basically I have to sign a a log which I don't know from previous people, whoever whatever issue they had previously from the other managers. All I told her I just take put everything together and drop it in the thing and that's it. You know, I don't I don't know anything else. So they basically let me go cuz of my me cuz of my name off the log. That's pretty much it. I don't That's what she told me they're just going to go ahead and let me go for it. What terminated you? They Yeah, well she they gave me a suspension and then she finally she said they made a decision to let me go cuz I had written broken name on the log. Oh. Yeah. So here's the log that I guess we got. I know it's kind of hard to see. Yeah. So you deposited these, but you're saying you dropped them off in like a drop box outside the bank. >> In the bank yeah. All right. Um yeah, so I spoke with Crystal. They still don't have any other deposit slips from from those times. That's why So just trying to get it figured out. But how long's it been now? Since this happened? This August. This is August, yeah. Oh, so yes, so they should have got everything. They should. Yeah. Even if they got it like $1 at a time, they should have it by now. >> was saying, yeah, she was saying they were waiting for back from the bank. I don't know. They were waiting for I don't know. Yeah, so I I ended up speaking with the bank as well. We ended up doing subpoenas from the bank um because they're independent. They have nothing to do with this. They'll tell us whether or not they got the money. And the bank is saying they didn't get the money either. I don't know. I have no It's whatever deposit slips they had in the safe, I just grab like every from which if you see if it's two signatures or whatever it is and then I put in the in in the deposit in the thing. That's it. Okay. Yeah. Where did you uh the what's the deposit on that on that bank? It's the Teresa what? 100 North Congress, right? Yeah. Okay. Cuz if there cuz with the teller and then there's a box right here, you open it and you just put it in. >> inside of the bank? No, it's outside. By the drive-thru. Okay. Yeah. Um What if I said there was no there's no camera footage of you at the bank dropping them off? Would that be weird? It would be I mean the bank should have cameras. Mhm. Especially in the drive-thru. Well, there was cameras at the There was cameras at the store, of course, cuz they got it like focused right on the on the on the safe. Mhm. And as you taking the money like you said you did like you signed out. Yeah, we're just trying to make it make sense. But in the drive-thru, if you pull up and drive through, the tell they should have cameras outside so they could see what cars are in that drive-thru. Well, if the bank has cameras are you getting out of the car to drop to put them in the box? >> I PULL UP IN THE I I STAY IN THE CAR. I DON'T HAVE to get out. Yeah. And the car that you're going is just your the one that's I guess registered to you? Which car do you have right now? I have the white car which is my husband's car. Okay. Which car did you have in August when when this happened? Was it the same white car? It's it's it's going to be either the white Yeah, white car or then there's a red vehicle. Well, those are my husband's vehicle. All right, so they'd be under here, which is your vehicle, not your husband's vehicle. It's under my husband's car. Yeah. Okay. Um yeah, cuz the next thing I'd want to do is reach out to the bank again and just verify that your car was there just so we can get you completely out of this. Yeah, I Yeah, I don't Yeah, cuz I don't get out of the vehicle. Cuz once you pull up, the thing's right there, you just open it, drop and close and go on. Okay. Yeah, so that would be the next step is we ask for the camera footage again of the vehicle. And then we should see your vehicle doing the drop boxes on those days around the time that you put, right? Mhm. Okay. All right, so at no point did you take it for like your own personal gain, nothing like that, right? No. Okay. If you I mean, you take my bag. I don't have any It's criminal history of me doing anything. I mean, well, parking, speeding tickets, that's I mean, that's everybody. You know, that's everybody. But when it comes to theft, that's not me. I don't Yeah. That's why this right here was very shocking to me. To me, I'm like, I don't take anything. I don't, you know, And then cuz I was training at the other store, they even I even took deposits there and dropped at the store when I was a training. And nothing was missing. So to me, this is, yeah. So what do you think happened here? I I don't know. I have no clue. I don't know. From one manager, she was telling me, you know, it's just like letting me know to be careful in this store. That's pretty much it. Like manager I don't know why this store manager didn't last in that store. I don't know. I'll I'm just new to Dollar Tree. And I never had issues like this. Never had problems like this with money. All right, before we go talk to anybody, of course, we look up who we're who we're dealing with. A good guy or bad guy. Of course, we looked up your history. You're not You're a good guy. You came running to come in here to say, "Hey, I'm coming to talk to you guys." I'm like, "He's busy, but I want to watch him." >> cuz I I know. You could leave at any time, but you you're making a statement trying to help us figure this for a better word crazy situation. I'm the same thing I said down with with Crystal, you know, with loss prevention. I was in there with the you know And Crystal had nothing but good to say about you, but she said we can't figure this out either. I can't listen. I like I told her I don't know. I told her she could search my vehicle. She like I think the bag fell under the car. I I walked out. We looked we checked my vehicle. I like I don't have nothing. I DON'T HAVE NOTHING. I DON'T GOT NOTHING. I DON'T TAKE NOTHING. I don't you know. And who who do you primarily bank with? Me, I bank with Wells Fargo. Mhm. And then we have Bank of America with my husband. Okay. So if we check your bank there shouldn't be anything crazy like these amounts going into your bank, right? From my account? No, pretty much um Yeah, I've seen I've seen If we check the If we check the banks we're not going to see deposits of like these amounts into your bank account, right? Oh, the total amounts of those? Oh, no. Um no, we appreciate you coming in. Um that's the next step is getting the camera footage and just verifying that you were actually at the bank so we can really go out. You know what I mean? Okay. Um do you have any any other questions? So Crystal, I mean I'm I come into town and I hear her conversation with her. She liked you. This hurt her having to I mean she said you were great. I mean limited time as she said this is we got very lucky having her as a manager. She doesn't know what happened here. No. In the scheme of things this is only like $5,000 or $4,000 or something like that. Mhm. We're busy in Boynton. We got other things we need to do. If you guys can maybe figure it out amongst yourselves Mhm. maybe you could find the money that got lost and get it back to them. Something like that. Would that >> we'll try. I don't know. I'll talk to Chris we'll Cuz this See what whatever it is, you know. At this point you kind of >> Cuz at the end of the day I I understand cuz you know, as being a store manager and me signing off so it's basically like it's like my kind of responsibility at the end of the day cuz >> Right. And then when and then the bank is saying that the money didn't arrive. Um The bank hasn't reported any intact or anything from the drop box. Nothing suspicious. >> We have you on camera taking the money out and then the money disappears. In the scheme of things you have no criminal history. You come in here to say let's go figure this out. Mhm. We're not trying to jam you up. So if somehow maybe we can make this right with Crystal. And she goes okay we made this right. I don't want to get her a charge. I don't want to mess her up like that. She's good people. Oh yeah. I definitely want to mess up my life. Right. Cuz you go to apply for another job and then you have a theft charge on you. A felony theft charge. And it's probably going to be two felonies with a scheme to defraud and a grand theft. They're going to look at that cuz they're going to do a background check like they all do. Like you you work at McDonald's as a fry guy they go with you have a convicted felony. They do a background check which is easy to do on the internet. Yeah. I'm not trying to tarnish my background. >> So if this was a mistake we all make mistakes. They they got a messed up system. I would get nervous even carrying that money to tell you the truth. >> I don't This is my first time. I don't know why they even do that. Like they're better off just having like Brinks come pick Yes. instead of having You could have put it in the safe. Yeah. And then and then they're dealing with different type of bank. Each store have a bank to me. That don't make no sense. But They they they they put you in a situation basically that that you weren't looking for. No. And you made a mistake. And mistakes happen. So you made a mistake in this situation and maybe we can make it right with Crystal. I mean at the end of the day it's you know as being a store I mean I'm so good to you. I you know Brainstorm with me. So they put you in this situation. They should have Brinks come by. If they have $5,000 it cost them $100 to get Brinks to go pick it up. And then you're not out there with money. You're not out there driving your car by yourself. Potentially going to get robbed or whatever else. They're putting people in this situation. So shame on them. Yeah. And they're putting thousands of dollars in people's hands which is a lot of money. In the scheme of things a lot of not a lot of money to them but it's a lot of money to me and you. Right. Yeah. Um so they they they they're setting themselves up for failure. You're a good person. Mhm. You made a mistake. Is there a way we can get this money back to Crystal? I don't know. I mean, I barely have anything. I don't know if they want me to do a payment plan or something to give them something that lost. I don't have no idea. >> What What happened to all the money? What did you guys spend it on? >> don't have any I don't spend But you had it and then you spent it. What did we spend it on? Where did it go? Why can't we get it back to Crystal? To do the paying bills with I don't but she Yeah, they think five That's There's no way I took that type of money. Okay, then how much did you take? There's no way I could even bother taking So, the amount in total is the is the 5,000. That's That's where we're at right now. So, how much How much did you take? It was less than that? Are they Are they padding the numbers here a little bit? I probably Sounds about right. It sounds about what they do. It sounds about you shouldn't even be in this situation, but it's shame on them for putting people in this situation. No wonder they're having problems. Cuz they're not acting right. They're not acting normal. What is So, when you ended up getting the deposits, what what actually happened with it? What did you do with them? Probably Did you go home with it? Did you end up having to pay bills with it? You got Got a little behind? So, here's the deposit here. Here's what they don't have. And when you add those up, it comes to that amount. 65 5,700 7,000 Oh. Mhm. Did you get behind on bills? Did you have to pay some home bills for it? You have kids? Where did the money go? Maybe you can get on a payment plan with them. No, I don't have any See, I'm still behind on rent pretty bad, but I mean Rent is not cheap in the world today. >> No, it's not. No. I mean, you can check my account. I didn't put none of this in my account. Yeah, of course. So, they're padding numbers a little bit. They're They're messed to begin with. So, maybe it's like 3,000. Maybe that's the payment plan we need to get on. Not even. So, just Why don't you just take us back to the beginning of How How did this even happen? When you take the deposits out of the safe, where did you end up going with the bags? I went to the You went to the bank? Or you took them to your bank? No. No, I don't think no. Not to my bank. No. Did you take the money out and throw the bags in? Or what what happened? And if they're trying to play games and add extra money on it, we need to know about that as well. So, Nyla, we can we can work with We can work with the Dollar Tree and discuss that with them. If you think it's more than what it was, we can always talk to them about it. No, it's not No. I didn't take I I didn't take Yeah, I don't This is not more what it was. I mean, they say this is what they're missing, but I know I didn't >> a crazy amount like >> Yeah. Okay. So, let's just take it back to the beginning. All right. So, you get the deposit bags from the safe. They have that on camera that you're taking, which is fine. What did you end up doing? Are you behind on bills? Did you try to help out with your bills? >> What did you end up doing with them the money that you took? We're just trying to make make sense of it at this point, you know? Cuz at the end of the day, I'm not a bad person. No, and I told you you're criminal There's nothing. Oh, yeah. >> Oh, yes. Um Everybody makes mistakes. We've all been there. >> Yeah, we do. I'm not perfect. We I don't do perfect. We do I don't perfect. So, we all do do mistakes. So, what is Crystal willing to do? Well, I'll have to talk to her. I have to give her a call and um going to discuss it with her. Um But right now I just need >> But I'm not But the thing But yeah, for all that I'm not taking responsibility for that. That's yeah. I'm not that crazy of No, and and like you said, I'm not saying if you think it's a different amount, that's fine. We can discuss that. But right now we just need to know what actually happened. So you take the bags, did Did you end up depositing them? Did you end up paying your apartment or Did you pay for any of your kids' stuff? Um I get behind on my bills all the time working here. I have to figure out ways to handle it, you know. >> I was behind one time on my rent. That's pretty much it. And this was one of those like, "Hey, this might help me out." Just to make it through. [ __ ] pretty much it. What's What's your husband do for a living? He does landscaping. Okay. He has no No idea what happened. Okay. No. He don't speak English. No. Okay. So it's just like I said, we we I talked to the bank already. They don't have you on camera. They don't have me on camera? Not Not during these. That's the That's the issue. So what happened when you got the deposits? Did you Did you take some of the money out? You know what? Should I have any bridge? But if I have all the bags together and So So they didn't take the They trying to say they don't have me at all depositing the the money? >> I'm talking about these transactions. We're we're Don't even worry about the bank right now. Okay. So you get the deposit bags from the safe. You leave uh with dog treat. Where do you go with the bags? With these bags that are missing. Did you go home with them? No. Okay. What did you do with them? I might have taken out from in from that car with it in the way. You did what? I'm sorry. >> I said I might have taken out out the bag before heading to the bank. Okay. Yeah, like you took the money out of the bag before going into the bank. Okay. And then what did you do with the money? And is that where the bills come into play? Made a money order and paid my rent. Okay. Where did you do the money order at? At Walmart. The Walmart? Mhm. Okay. So, you money order and then the money went towards your rent. Mhm. Okay. And that makes sense. You need it towards your rent. How much is your rent payment? 2008. 2800 for an apartment? Oh my gosh. Mhm. See, it's it's difficult anywhere right now. Um Would you want to write an apology letter to Dollar Tree where we could deliver it to them? Yeah. Okay. First of all, they didn't have anything bad to say about you. She's very nice. >> She's just trying to get it figured out cuz, you know, she's going to be responsible for what's going on, too. But I'm sorry. Do you have any thoughts? I just want to make it super clear for the camera purposes and everything, too. So, you got the bags, you took the money out of the bags, you go to the Walmart off Military, the neighborhood Walmart, and get a money order, and then you paid your apartment your rent with it. Yeah. Okay. Do you still have all the money bags and everything? No. What did you do with the money bag? Threw it in the trash. Okay. They they got more. Don't worry. It'll be all right. Okay, so the um raise your right hand for me. Do you swear and affirm that everything is the truth? Yes. Okay. You can put your hand down. All right, so the next step would be uh we would take you into custody for theft right now, okay? So, you we'll go up to our office. We'll make it easy. We're not going to put you in a cell here, but we got to do the paperwork. Okay. And then after that? And then I'm sorry. No, we'll We're not taking you to the jail. At some point, you'll go to your first appearance and they'll probably release her with no criminal history. >> Yeah. They'll take you to do fingerprints, they'll take your picture. And then later on you'll get a court date, you'll get a court hearing, that's when you can explain your side if you don't think it was that amount, then you can argue that it wasn't that that much money and all that, okay? But we'll also call Crystal and verify everything, too. Okay. All right. So it's not the end of the road, it's not the end of the world, it's just you have to deal with this, you made a mistake. You have no history of this, you know, maybe it'll just be a money thing and then Okay, so do I have to call my job? When are you supposed to work? Around 3:30 today. 3:30? Mhm. Okay. I'm calling in on the shaker. Yeah, I mean you can tell them whatever you want. Just give me a second to take your your purse off and any jewelry that you have. I'm going to hold on to it, put your phone in the purse for me. I'm going to hold on to it as you just go upstairs and I'll give it back to you. We'll get the paperwork done as quick as we can to get you uh You're a normal person, this is not a normal situation, that's why we're just explaining everything to you, okay? Mhm. Cuz Uh this one? Like your phone? Okay, just like this. Okay, and I got your purse, we're going to walk up with you. So think about who we need to call. We need to probably call work, we need to call any husband that Does he have a spare keys for the car? You want to leave the car here? Uh he doesn't know if I have to keep He doesn't have a spare key. Okay. Let's examine the constitutional framework. Under Miranda versus Arizona, law enforcement is only required to advise a suspect of their rights when two conditions are met simultaneously. The person is in custody and they are subject to interrogation. Mark was explicitly told she could leave at any time. She was seated in an open room, not a cell. No arrest had been made. This is a textbook non-custodial voluntary interview. Miranda does not apply, and any statement she makes is fully admissible. The evidentiary groundwork laid before this interview is legally significant. Detectives obtained bank subpoenas independently of Dollar Tree. This matters because independent third-party records eliminate the defense argument that the employer inflated or fabricated the loss figures. Store camera footage established Mark's physical custody of the deposit bags. The signed deposit log placed her name on each transaction. Bank records confirm the funds never arrived. That is a three-point evidentiary chain custody, acknowledgement, and absence sufficient for felony prosecution without a confession. The interrogation technique on display here is a structured application of what behavioral psychologists call minimization, a legally permitted approach in which the investigator reduces the moral weight of the suspected act, suggests external justifications, and lowers the psychological barrier to confession. Observe the language deployed. You're a good person. Shame on them for putting you in that situation. We've all made mistakes. None of this constitutes coercion under the legal standard. The controlling case is Colorado versus Connelly, decided by the Supreme Court in 1986. Connelly held that a confession is involuntary only when it results from government coercion that overbears the suspect's free will. Sympathy, persuasion, and moral framing, even if strategically deployed, do not meet that threshold under federal constitutional law. The more sensitive legal question here is the implied leniency language. The detective suggests that if Mark can make this right with Crystal, a criminal charge might be avoidable. This walks a documented line. Florida courts, including in State versus Whitfield, have held that general suggestions of benefit do not render a confession involuntary. What would cross the line is an explicit, unambiguous promise. Confess and you will not be charged. No such promise was made here. The confession stands. Mark's confession was not a single statement. It was built incrementally first an admission of financial hardship then an acknowledgement that she was behind on rent. Then the critical pivot. She took money out of the deposit bags before reaching the bank, purchased money orders at Walmart and paid her landlord directly. That incremental structure is legally meaningful. It is consistent with voluntary disclosure rather than a coerced statement. And it provides corroborating detail. Walmart, money orders, military trail, location, apartment rent, each of which is independently verifiable by investigators. Now to the charges. Mark was arrested on two felony counts. The first is grand theft under Florida statute section 812.014. Florida classifies theft as a third degree felony when the value of property taken meets or exceeds $750. Six deposits totaling approximately $5,700 clears that threshold by a factor of seven. The second and more serious charge is organized scheme to defraud under Florida statute section 817.034, the Florida Communications Fraud Act. This statute targets systematic ongoing conduct with intent to defraud where the aggregate value is under $20,000. It carries a second degree felony classification punishable by up to 15 years imprisonment. The scheme charge is what separates this case from a single act of opportunistic theft. Six separate removals executed over multiple days each requiring Mark to sign a custody log and then deliberately divert funds that is a pattern of conduct not a lapse in judgment. Florida prosecutors will argue the scheme charge aggressively. Under Florida statute section 812.025, prosecutors may charge both grand theft and scheme to defraud arising from the same conduct, the defendant cannot be convicted of both for the same act, but the state may present both at trial and elect the greater offense, giving the prosecution significant leverage in plea negotiations. Now grades, the detectives receive an A minus. The pre-interview investigation was thorough and legally sound. Independent subpoenas, camera, evidence, and signed documentation were secured before Mark ever sat down. The interrogation stayed below the coercive threshold throughout. Arrest announcement was factual and professional. The minor deduction, suggesting Dollar Tree may have padded the effort passes numbers. While a permitted tactic introduces language defense, counsel can cite as investigator doubt about the stated loss amount. It was unnecessary once confession was imminent and cleaner interrogation would have avoided it. Nelson Mark receives a C plus. The financial hardship context is real and courts will weigh it at sentencing. Her cooperation and clean record are genuine mitigating factors. However, six separate acts over multiple weeks constitute a scheme by definition, not a mistake. The discarding of deposit bags eliminated physical evidence that could have tested the prosecution's figures. Most critically, Mark attended this interview without counsel, waived her right to remain silent without ever formally invoking it, and provided a detailed confession that included the method, the location, and the destination of the stolen funds. She gave prosecution everything it needed to close the case. Dollar Tree and Crystal receive a B plus. The internal investigation was methodical, documented, and fair. Crystal gave Mark every opportunity to self-correct before escalating to law enforcement. Independent bank verification before filing a police report strengthened the evidentiary record substantially. The deduction reflects a systemic vulnerability in Dollar Tree's cash handling policy. Requiring individual store managers with armored transport without a partner and without a fixed schedule to physically carry thousands of dollars to night deposit boxes creates foreseeable conditions for exactly this type of loss. That is a corporate policy failure, not Crystal's. The lesson here operates on two levels. For law enforcement, this case demonstrates that voluntary non-custodial interviews when approached with a fully developed evidentiary foundation produce admissible confessions without Miranda exposure and that minimization technique, properly applied, does not require crossing into coercive territory to be effective. For anyone in a similar situation, you are under no legal obligation to enter a police station, answer questions, or remain once you have arrived regardless of how the invitation is framed. The moment you believe you are under investigation, the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and the Sixth Amendment right to counsel are your most consequential tools. Using them costs nothing. Waiving them, as this case illustrates, can cost everything. Let us know if there is an interaction or legal topic that you would like us to discuss in the comments below. Thank you for watching and don't forget to check out our second channel, Audit the Court, for even more police interaction and courtroom content.