An employee of a South Island store has admitted stealing valuable trading cards during his shifts and selling them online, leaving the shop's owner feeling "absolutely betrayed".
The man, aged in his 20’s, appeared in the Dunedin District Court this morning and pleaded guilty to a charge of theft in a special relationship.
CCTV captured the defendant removing trading cards from packs and taking food and drink without paying between February 21 and March 21 last year, a police summary said.
During his shift he would open card packets and remove the ones he wanted, throwing away the remaining cards and placing other cards into a “personal pile” next to the counter.
At the end of the day, he took the cards with him and did not pay for the packs.
On multiple occasions, the defendant also falsely processed items as cash transactions, without depositing any cash into the till and without any corresponding EFTPOS transaction, the police summary said.
The store's owner spoke to the Otago Daily Times about the theft last year, saying the man’s actions had left him feeling "absolutely betrayed".
"He was a good friend."
A stock take revealed there were missing Pokemon trading cards, One-piece trading cards as well as other trading card booster packs.
The total value of the missing stock was still being confirmed, but police alleged it was over $20,000.
The defendant told police he started stealing the trading card packs and boxes from the store in late 2023.
He said initially it would just be booster packs but eventually the thefts escalated to more.
The employee admitted he altered inventory systems to write off or adjust stock in the system to account for what he had been taking.
He sold the cards online, and he threw out the ones he did not think people would buy.
People collect the cards to complete sets or buy packs in hopes to find rare and valuable cards which can sell for a high price.
The value of each card would depend on the rarity, condition and demand.
Judge David Robinson continued an order suppressing the man’s name until his sentencing in September.
A conviction was not entered for the crime as the defendant intended to apply for a discharge without conviction.
