Five former QVC employees have been arrested after investigators accused them of manipulating the retailer’s refund system to generate more than $58,000 in credits for merchandise that was never returned.
The Florence County Sheriff’s Office identified the former employees as Jessica Demetric Purvis, 35, Tameka L. Rogers, 51, Imani Kadijah Rogers, 24, Yaysher Damion Grice, 25, and Jaquanna Miesha Davis, 33.
Investigators say the group fraudulently manipulated refund credits tied to purchased goods even though those items had not been returned to QVC.
All five were arrested in South Carolina after the sheriff’s office worked with QVC’s Global Security Operations on the investigation, according to WTVM.
QVC’s Security Operation Worked With Florence County Investigators
Authorities say refund credits were fraudulently manipulated for purchases even though the corresponding goods had not actually been returned. The value of the improper refunds identified so far exceeds $58,000.
The case was investigated jointly by the Florence County Sheriff’s Office and QVC’s Global Security Operations. That investigation led to the arrests of the five former employees on Aug. 27. WMBF reported that each defendant was charged with breach of trust with fraudulent intent.
South Carolina law treats breach of trust with fraudulent intent as a form of larceny. The offense generally involves property or money that was lawfully entrusted to someone before allegedly being converted with fraudulent intent.
The potential penalty depends on the value attributed to an individual offense. Public reporting gives a combined loss estimate for the suspected QVC scheme but does not break down how much authorities attribute to each defendant.
Investigators Say More Arrests Are Likely
The five people already charged may not be the only defendants in the case. The Florence County Sheriff’s Office says the investigation remains active and additional arrests are likely.
Authorities have not identified any other suspects or announced a loss estimate beyond the more than $58,000 currently associated with the investigation.
Purvis, Tameka Rogers, Imani Rogers, Grice and Davis have been charged but not convicted. The allegations against them remain pending in court.
Refund Systems Need Controls Beyond an Employee’s Approval
Employee access to refunds can create a significant fraud risk when one person can alter transaction records or issue credits without independent evidence that merchandise actually came back.
The National Retail Federation says return fraud has become an increasingly organized problem for retailers and recommends treating it as a broader systems and data issue rather than relying only on customer-facing return policies.
Retailers can require electronic proof that an item was received before certain refunds are finalized, match refund transactions to return scans or warehouse records and flag credits that lack corresponding merchandise movement.
Access controls are also important. Employees who can initiate or modify refunds should not have unrestricted authority to approve the same transactions. The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s internal-control guidance recommends separating authorization, processing, recording and review responsibilities so one person does not control every critical stage of a transaction.
Businesses can also monitor refund data for unusual patterns, including employees with unusually high refund volumes, repeated credits without documented returns, multiple transactions linked to the same customer or payment account and activity outside normal job responsibilities.
If internal refund fraud is suspected, companies should preserve transaction histories, employee access logs, return records, surveillance footage, customer-account information and system audit trails before changing or deleting affected records. Those records can help investigators determine the size of the loss, identify other participants and distinguish legitimate refunds from manipulated ones.