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A FORMER Wegmans pharmacy technician has been sentenced to a year in prison after committing wire fraud.
Alicia Torres, 48, stole nearly $580,000 from the supermarket.
The Webster, New York – about 18 minutes northeast of Rochester – resident fraudulently processed nearly 350 credit card refund requests between 2014 and February 2023.
She created the refund requests through a pharmacy system used to fill prescriptions.
Torres was able to trick the pharmacists on duty to approve the transactions.
Once approved, she then processed the refunds to her personal credit card.
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The former employee admitted to her crimes in federal court earlier this year.
Her crimes extended over nine years.
She stole nearly $570,000 through the fraudulent returns.
She began working as a pharmacy technician at the supermarket in 2008.
Torres also fraudulently used Wegmans gift cards, which accounted for another $10,922.17 in theft.
Now, the woman must pay about $580,000 in restitution to the food market.
Torres’ attorney Trini E. Ross stated that she needed the money because her son faced serious health issues, according to court papers obtained by Democrat and Chronicle.
“Alicia told both Wegmans and the FBI that she began stealing funds from the pharmacy after her son was born to help pay for his medical bills and living expenses,” said the court papers from her attorney.
The statement continued: “She filed bankruptcy in 2014 with the hope that would solve her financial instability. It did not.”
