As I was driving down Broadway the other day, I passed by Bird Bakery in Alamo Heights. I used to eat there frequently but had to stop since it was making it a lot more difficult to achieve any of my fitness goals. I remembered the story of a former employee who fits the description of many of the fraudsters we have learned about in this class.
In 2019, Jessica Martinez was sentenced to 4 years in prison and ordered to pay $124,000 in restitution. Ms. Martinez started working at the bakery at the age of 19. She eventually worked her way up to manager. Between 2016 and 2018 she was able to steal over $100,000 by voiding 464 transactions and keeping the customer’s money for herself. Since she was a manager, she was able to override the bakery's internal controls.
Unsurprisingly, Ms. Martinez did what other fraudsters have done and spent lavishly. However, she was kind enough to also buy gifts for her coworkers with the stolen money. This probably bought her some time and cover when she became a suspect.
Her actions shut down plans for opening another bakery in Denver. Additionally, the owner had to use money from a Dallas location to keep the Alamo Heights location afloat and had to cancel employee raises and bonuses.
A second employee named Stephanie Trevino was also caught and convicted but she received probation for only stealing $3,000. She was not found to be colluding with Ms. Martinez.
