Woman stole nearly $1 million from Walmart stores in 24 states, feds say

The nearly $1 million in checks that a woman and a man cashed at more than 300 Walmart stores in 24 states looked like legitimate bank checks, federal prosecutors said, but they were counterfeits.

The pair spent the money — more than $850,000 — on prepaid debit cards, including from other retailers, and on gift cards, Walmart shopping cards and other merchandise, according to court documents.

Cyianna Ashley Woods, a 38-year-old from Atlanta, hoodwinked Walmarts for seven years with co-conspirator Andre Marquese White, a 35-year-old from Norcross, Ga., according to court documents.

The retailer eventually caught onto the scheme, which the pair pulled off from 2013 to 2019, prosecutors said.

In U.S. District Court in Charlotte on Thursday, Judge Kenneth Bell sentenced Woods to five years in prison on wire fraud and money laundering charges, according to a news release Friday by U.S Attorney Dena King’s office.

Bell also ordered Woods to serve three years of supervised release and pay $923,915 in restitution, according to the release.

The judge previously sentenced White to three years and 10 months in prison and three years of supervised release, records show.

The pair previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges.

“This criminal duo engaged in an extensive scheme that defrauded Walmart of hundreds of thousands of dollars,” King said in a statement Friday. “This type of financial crime impacts not only affected retailers but also consumers, in the form of higher prices for goods and services.”

The sentencings should warn “others thinking they can get away with schemes like this” that federal agents, police and businesses “are watching,” said Ronnie Martinez, special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in the Carolinas.