10 Indiana Hardees Employees Have Been Charged In Fraud Scheme

Multiple employees of a Hardee's in Michigan City, Indiana, have been charged after stealing money from customers to bail out inmates at a local jail.

Hardee's Employee Scandal

Nine out of the ten individuals accused of using stolen money from Hardee's customers to bail out inmates have been arrested by the LaPorte County Sheriff's Office in Indiana.

The group is facing 20 felony charges, including fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and criminal organization activity. Police are still on the lookout for one suspect involved in the scheme.

Suspiciously large amounts of funds were discovered by jail staff at the LaPorte County Jail that were being placed into inmates' accounts from an external source. The same inmates were then seen bonding out of the jail soon after, carrying the remaining balance on a jail-issued debit card.

After conducting an investigation, officials uncovered a fraud scheme run by several Hardee's employees from Michigan City, as well as others involved in the plot.

How Did The Employees Do It?

Reports show that Hardee's employees used a scheme that involved taking pictures of debit and credit cards used by customers in the drive-thru, which they fraudulently used to put money into the accounts of inmates with low bail amounts.

Once out of jail, the inmates would then take the jail-issued debit card, with the remaining amount left on it, and withdraw the rest of the cash from an ATM. The total amount charged fraudulently amounted to $14,700, and the victims are currently working with their financial institutions to retrieve their funds.

Arrest Warrants

As a result of the investigation, arrest warrants were issued for the following people:

• Darrien Ward – Fraud (Level 5 Felony) and Criminal Organizational Activity (Level 6 Felony)
• Prince Arnold - Fraud (Level 5 Felony) and Criminal Organizational Activity (Level 6 Felony)
• Kristin Vanschoyck - Fraud (Level 5 Felony) and Criminal Organizational Activity (Level 6 Felony)
• Madison Zuk – Conspiracy to Commit Fraud (Level 5 Felony) and Criminal Organizational Activity (Level 6 Felony)
• Anisa Higginbotham - Conspiracy to Commit Fraud (Level 5 Felony) and Criminal Organizational Activity (Level 6 Felony)
• Hollie LaChapelle - Conspiracy to Commit Fraud (Level 5 Felony) and Criminal Organizational Activity (Level 6 Felony)
• Carissa Bealor - Conspiracy to Commit Fraud (Level 5 Felony) and Criminal Organizational Activity (Level 6 Felony)
• Lawrence Armstrong - Conspiracy to Commit Fraud (Level 5 Felony) and Criminal Organizational Activity (Level 6 Felony)
• Moesha Monique Savanna Payne - Conspiracy to Commit Fraud (Level 5 Felony) and Criminal Organizational Activity (Level 6 Felony)
• Dylnn Scott - Conspiracy to Commit Fraud (Level 5 Felony) and Criminal Organizational Activity (Level 6 Felony)

Police say Scott (pictured above) is the only suspect who has not been arrested yet. If you have any information on Scott’s whereabouts, you’re asked to call the Fugitive Apprehension Street Team (FAST) at 219-608-9572 or Michiana Crime Stoppers at 800-342-7867.

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