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

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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.