A cashier is accused of stealing more than $52,000 from the tills of a Warroad, Minn., supermarket over the course of three years.
Ryan Charles Cass, 32, is set to make an initial court appearance Monday on six felony charges of theft by swindle.
According to a criminal complaint:
Chuck Lindner, a co-owner of Doug's Supermarket, uncovered the thefts in November when he noticed that Cass would not scan some items as he checked out customers, charge them an estimated total, manually enter a smaller amount into the register and not give receipts to those customers. At the end of his shift, Cass would add up the overage and steal that amount, Lindner told authorities.
During an interview with investigators, Cass described a similar scheme. Cass, who worked two or three night shifts a week, told investigators he had been stealing from the store during the past year and had taken about $100 each shift. He estimated that he stole a total of roughly $5,000.
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A couple days after being caught, Cass sent an e-mail to Lindner that said, in part:
"Chuck, I don't even know what to say. The guilt, remorse and regret that (are) going through me this past couple of days is consuming every minute ... I have $150 that stares at me on my dresser every time I walk into my room. I know I owe you a lot more than that but I want to start ... I will never expect you to forgive me. But I want to make this up to you ... Ryan."
Using store records that went back to May 2007, supermarket employees found that Cass stole $52,667 between May 2007 and November 2009, the complaint says.
Another co-owner of the supermarket, Susan Hagen, said Wednesday that Cass no longer works at the store, but she declined to answer other questions, including how long he had worked there and whether more money is suspected stolen. Messages left for the Roseau County sheriff's deputy who investigated the case and the county attorney were not returned Wednesday.
Cass, of Warroad, was charged with the thefts earlier this month. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and $20,000 fine.
The Roseau County clerk of court's office did not know if Cass had an attorney. A phone number listed for him had been disconnected.
