Crime

AutoZone Employee Accused of Stealing $6,729 Through 45 Fake Battery Refunds on St. Croix

ST. CROIX — An employee of the AutoZone store in Barren Spot is accused of stealing $6,729.89 from her employer by processing as many as 45 fraudulent battery refunds over three days, despite no customers being present and no merchandise being returned. According to prosecutors, Adina Simons, who worked as a commercial specialist at the store, carried out the alleged scheme between May 28 and May 30, 2026. Court documents described in the allegations indicate that Simons repeatedly entered fictitious battery-return transactions into the store's computer system, generating refunds for merchandise that had never been returned. Prosecutors allege that she then pocketed the cash. Simons appeared before Magistrate Yolan Brow Ross on Thursday, November 5, for an advice-of-rights hearing, where the court found probable cause to uphold charges of obtaining money by false pretense, grand larceny, embezzlement by a clerk, agent or employee, and accessing a computer for fraudulent purposes. B...