Burger King customer's card swiped; manager and pregnant girlfriend arrested

ROYAL PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A trip to Burger King for food led to more than $700 in fraudulent charges on a man's debit card, and the restaurant shift manager and his pregnant girlfriend behind bars on criminal charges.

According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, the victim went to the Burger King on Southern Boulevard near Forest Hill Boulevard in Royal Palm Beach on June 29. He left the restaurant after ordering his food, but left his Wells Fargo debit card on the table.

The next day, investigators said the man found four fraudulent transactions worth more than $764 on his checking account:

• $334.85 at the Publix on Village Boulevard in West Palm Beach at 9:15 p.m.
• $60.44 at Wawa in Riviera Beach at 10 p.m.
• $372 at the Walmart on 45th Street in Riviera Beach at 10:37 p.m.

A fourth transaction was declined at 10:30 p.m. at an unknown Taco Bell. All four transactions happened between 9 and 10:37 p.m., just hours after the man paid for his dinner at Burger King, investigators said.

The victim alerted his bank and the district manager at Burger King.

Store managers reviewed surveillance video. It showed the customer leaving his debit card on the table. A customer initially picked it up but put it back on the table. Then, a Burger King employee picked up the card and gave it to the on-duty night shift manager.

According to the arrest report, the night-shift manager happened to be 42-year-old Jamie Damont Jacobs. The manager took the card to a back office and put it into a safe. Eight minutes later, investigators said Jacobs returned to the office, opened the safe, grabbed the debit card and put it in his pocket. He went back to the dining room counter before going to the bathroom and returning to the office where, at 7:41 p.m., he made a phone call.

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Investigators said Jacobs then called his pregnant girlfriend, 33-year-old Zykiria Brown. After making the call, Jacobs went to help with orders at the drive-thru window for about 20 minutes. The store manager told investigators she found it unusual for the shift manager to help at the drive-thru when the restaurant is fully staffed.

According to the arrest report, Brown and her three young children showed up at Burger King to meet with Jacobs.

Investigators said Jacobs went outside to give Brown the Wells Fargo debit card. Brown then went to Publix. The store surveillance video showed her dressed in a pink shower cap, medical face mask, a gray sweater jacket, multi-colored pants, and turquoise slippers. He had three young female children with her.

Investigators tried to get surveillance video from the Wawa gas station, but the store manager said the video system that night wasn't working.

The surveillance video from Walmart showed the same woman from Publix, in the same pink shower cap, multi-colored pants, and turquoise slippers. This time she only had one child with her. After the transaction declined at the check-out register, investigators said the woman left the store and walked to a 2-door silver car, similar to the older model Honda Accord owned by Jacobs.

By mid-September, investigators identified Jacobs and Brown as suspects in the fraud investigation. Deputies arrested them on September 20.

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Brown told investigators Jacobs gave her the credit card that she ultimately used at Publix to buy groceries for her daughter's birthday party. According to the arrest report, she said used the same stolen card to buy gas at Wawa and food at Taco Bell. She said she then dropped off two of her children at home before going to Walmart with her youngest child to try to buy more stuff for the party. When the card was declined twice, she said she left the store empty-handed.

Jacobs admitted to being in the surveillance video at Burger King, but denied giving the card to anyone. He also denied knowing Brown when shown a picture of her at Publix.

The Burger King manager fired Jacobs on July 2. She said Jacobs "acknowledged the credit card incident and did not dispute it." She also said Jacobs thanked her for not telling authorities before leaving the store.

Jacobs and Brown face charges of trafficking in stolen property, fraud impersonation, possession of stolen credit cards, and illegal use of stolen credit cards.