A local phone company employee was arrested Friday morning on felony charges of theft and computer fraud stemming from allegations he embezzled over $2,000 from the business.
Richard Lamont Ainey, 28, of 112 Hickory St., Apt. 3, was taken into custody at his apartment around 11 a.m. and charged with computer fraud and theft of property over $1,000, each punishable by up to six years in prison.
He remained in custody Tuesday in lieu of $5,000 bond and appeared via video Monday in Garland County District Court and pleaded not guilty to the charges. A court order barring him from contact with the business, Metro by T-Mobile, 2916 Central Ave., was issued on Monday and a felony review hearing is now set for Nov. 4.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on May 29, 2019, the Metro PCS manager reported a theft of funds and the manipulation of their computer system by a former employee. She told Hot Springs police Ainey, during the month of May, began creating false "smart pay" accounts for customers in their store.
She said that when a customer would pay money on their account, Ainey would create a smart pay account and fabricate a transaction number to make it look valid. He would then "pocket the money" from the customer and make it look like he had deposited it.
The manager provided documentation of 21 transactions between May 17 and May 29 where most of the smart pay IDs were duplicated and in each case, no money was provided to the company. The smallest transaction was for $47.90 and the biggest was $350.80. The combined loss of funds to the company was $2,021.35.
According to court records, Ainey had previously pleaded guilty to a felony charge of theft of property over $1,000 on Nov. 20, 2017, in Garland County Circuit Court and was sentenced to four years' supervised probation and fined $500. The conviction followed his arrest on Feb. 28, 2017, for embezzling $2,235 from his then employer, Half of Half Clothing, in Hot Springs.
Local on 10/09/2019