Former beauty store employees accused of stealing over $500,000 worth of products

STURTEVANT, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A former beauty store employee is accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of products.

It happened at Andis in Sturtevant. Andi's is a family company that specializes in developing professional quality hair tools but according to court documents, two long-time trusted employees admitted to stealing more than half a million dollars worth of products.

"I can confirm that Andis Company assisted federal law enforcement in their investigation against two former employees who were part of a scheme to steal products from our warehouse and resell them," said Bob Gleason, VP Human Resources, and Safety.

Bettye R. Kidd, a lead material handler, and her niece Tracie Edmonson both worked for the company for over 20 years. According to the charges, Kidd also recruited her son in the scheme which may have started as early as 2009. Kidd would sell Andis hair clippers and blades to businesses in Missouri, Texas, Illinois, and Georgia. Then they would ship the stolen items directly from the warehouse in Sturtevant and collect cash or check payments. 

Court records show that between September of 2012 and January of this year, over 1400 packages with $545,000 worth of products were shipped, costing Andis an additional $12,155 in UPS shipping fees.

"As a result of this criminal incident, Andis Company has enhanced its warehousing logistics to ensure that this does not happen again," Gleason said.

All three agreed to plead guilty to one count of fraud. They face up to 10 years in prison.