Group Home Employee Charged After Stealing Resident's Credit Card to Buy Starbucks and a Zoo Pass

Officers with the Racine Police Department responded to a group home located in the 6400 block of Durand Ave to take a fraud report.

Officers spoke with a non-ambulatory group home resident who indicated that her credit card had been used to make 12 fraudulent transactions. Eleven of those charges were at Starbucks and the final one was at the Milwaukee County Zoo. The charges totaled $265.00 and occurred between September 6th and October 10th of 2015. 

According to the criminal complaint, officers were told that Alejandra Garcia Perez assists the victim with banking activities and it would have been possible for her to hold onto the card without consent.

According to the criminal complaint, Garcia Perez showed her husband a Milwaukee Zoo pass but stated that someone used the victim's credit card to make the purchase but the card was mailed to her residence. Garcia Perez claimed that she did not know that the victim's credit card was used to purchase the card and blamed 3 other employees at the group home of stealing the victim's credit card information. Officers investigated and found that to be untrue.

Police spoke with Starbuck's officials and learned that a Gmail address for Garcia Perez was used when the victim's credit card was used. 

Garcia Perez eventually admitted to using the credit card to load Starbuck's gift cards in the amount of $25.00. She denied using the credit card for the zoo pass or for the other Starbucks purchases.

Garcia Perez now faces charges of Felony Personal ID Theft - Financial Gain. Her preliminary hearing is set for April 26th.