GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Madison Brooke Cowart, 28, was arrested early this morning after police said the former Crafty Bastards employee carried out an alleged scheme involving unauthorized food discounts, inflated gratuities and unreported cash payments.
According to a Gainesville Police Department officer’s report, Cowart—identified as “Matt” in the arrest documents—began working at Crafty Bastards, located at 4860 NW 39th Avenue, in January 2025. Restaurant managers said Cowart failed to report cash payments and tips on several days during the first month, with the number of instances increasing over time. Between June and November 2025, managers allegedly identified roughly 16 days each month when cash was not reported. They believed Cowart kept the money instead of turning it over to the restaurant.
After reviewing every ticket assigned to Cowart, management said they found a recurring pattern: Cowart allegedly added a tip manually to checks, in addition to any gratuity entered by the customer, while reducing the food charge. The discounts reportedly lowered the customer’s final bill enough to conceal the extra tip in many cases, while still creating a loss for the business.
Cowart also allegedly applied the restaurant’s group gratuity—which was intended for parties of seven or more—to smaller tables, including groups of just one or two customers.
Although employees were permitted to issue certain discounts, management said Cowart’s discount total in one example month was nearly twice that of another employee who worked a comparable number of hours. That comparison did not include additional discounts allegedly issued while Cowart was assigned to the bar.
Managers also said Cowart’s combined gratuities and tips were unusually high compared with those of other employees. On one day in January 2026, Cowart was reportedly owed $434 in tips—an amount management described as unlike anything seen from another employee.
Police said Cowart allegedly used another method while working behind the bar. When a customer paid in cash, Cowart would reportedly discount the entire bill to zero and keep both the payment and the tip. Investigators were given multiple tickets showing purchases such as beer with the full amount discounted and a final balance of $0.00.
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Despite the allegations, management described Cowart as a strong employee who regularly volunteered for extra shifts and built good relationships with returning customers.
The officer conducted two post-Miranda interviews with Cowart. During the first, Cowart reportedly said discounts were used during trivia nights, special events and visits involving the owners’ family or friends. Cowart also said the group gratuity was sometimes added automatically and went unnoticed until a customer raised the issue. Cowart reportedly acknowledged manually adding the gratuity for tables of three or four people when additional guests were expected to join. Cowart disputed the accuracy of the spreadsheet management used to calculate the restaurant’s losses. The officer wrote that Cowart’s answers appeared “well-rehearsed and calculated.”
Cowart reportedly declined to respond to questions during a second interview.
Management estimated the alleged fraud totaled $31,124.16. Of that amount, $9,822.06 was attributed to tips customers might have chosen not to pay on top of the group gratuity. The remaining $21,302.10 allegedly represented a direct financial loss to the restaurant through improper discounts on food and drinks.
Cowart faces charges of grand theft involving more than $20,000 and participating in a scheme to defraud. Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $10,000.