Police charge two for stealing cafe cash
Sunday, August 15, 2010 at 4:06PM By Connor De Bruler
There is no such thing as a free lunch.
Two Winthrop students were arrested for buying Papa John’s pizza on March 1. The offenders were formally charged with financial transaction card fraud after purchasing pizza using another student’s cafe cash, according to the police report.
Velma Tahsoh, freshman biology major, noticed her cafe cash was significantly lower than she remembered. It dropped from $114 to $55, she said. Dining services said her account showed the most recent transactions were Papa John’s.
She had never ordered pizza before.
Tahsoh contacted the Winthrop Campus Police. She told them she suspected her old roommate had stolen her ID because she used to leave it on her desk.
The police conducted an investigation and discovered the pizza had been delivered to Wofford Hall on three occasions after obtaining transaction receipts from the manager of Papa John’s on Main Street. The police were able to find the suspects using the receipts by tracing the cell phones used to place the orders.
When the first suspect was called in for questioning, she admitted to eating the pizza that had been ordered, but was not aware it had been purchased with Tahsoh’s café cash, according the police report. She said the student who purchased the pizza told her she used her former roommate’s card after the pizza was already consumed. She thought it was a joke.
It wasn’t.
The second suspect was very compliant and openly admitted to using Tahsoh’s information to “order pizza on her dime,” according to the police report. The two had been involved in a dispute that greatly upset both of them.
Both students were subsequently taken into custody.
One of the suspect’s mothers offered to pay Tahsoh back, but the university told her the money would be reinstated into her account.
“I’m not a big spender,” she said.
Pam Yurkovic, director of dining services, said they are aware of the incident and have reviewed their policy with Papa John’s.
“Papa John’s is required to request a driver’s license photo identification and verify that it matches the student ID card, as well as obtain a signed receipt,” she said.
