17-year-old accused of stealing $40,000 worth of gift cards from Target

ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — A teen working at Target for the holidays was only at the register for about five weeks before a proposition changed her life.

That conversation and the decision she made to go along with a quick-money scheme loading gift cards landed the 17-year-old high school student in Rockdale County jail Sunday.

She's still locked up nearly a week later, but Channel 2's Carl Willis found her mother.

“I'm broken. This is a serious charge. This isn't anything that can just go away like that," her mom said.

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That's because the teen is accused of helping two men get ahold of $40,000 worth of gift cards from a Conyers Target.

The girl's mother told police the men met with her daughter and instructed her on how to swipe the cards -- one after the other, without taking payment.

The mother has a warning for parents and any employee who lands in this position.

"Oh my God," her mom said. " Watch. Just watch, because there are a lot of scams going on everywhere and to kids, it sounds good to them."

A theft ring with the exact same procedure was taken down at a Buckhead Target earlier this month and investigators believe it could be tied to yet another bust at a Peachtree City store days later.

In those cases, Target employees were recruited through social media and right in the store parking lots.

Every time it's the cashier who gets arrested.

Cox Media Group