A commercial specialist at an AutoZone store on St. Croix has been charged with orchestrating a scheme to pocket nearly $6,700 in fraudulent refunds by processing fake battery returns.
Adina Simons worked at AutoZone Store No. 6658 in Estate Barren Spot. Prosecutors say that from May 28 to May 30, she manipulated the store's point-of-sale system to create 45 unauthorized cash-refund tickets for automobile batteries. No customers were actually present for any of these transactions, and no merchandise was returned to inventory. The scheme yielded $6,729.89 in cash that Simons took for herself.
Simons was arrested on Wednesday, November 4, after an internal investigation uncovered the repeated fraud. She was brought before Magistrate Judge Yolan C. Brow Ross at the R.H. Amphlett Leader Justice Center in Kingshill the following morning.
The Department of Justice filed five felony charges: obtaining money by false pretense, grand larceny, embezzlement by a clerk or employee, accessing a computer for fraudulent purposes, and participating in frauds on creditors. The magistrate found probable cause to move all counts forward to Superior Court.
During her arraignment, Simons entered not guilty pleas to every charge. Judge Brow Ross set bail at $35,000: Simons can be released by posting $1,000 in cash and having a third-party custodian sign for the remaining $34,000 as an unsecured bond. She must reside at a verified address and comply with standard court conditions.
The case has been assigned to Superior Court Judge Yvette Ross-Edwards on a 270-day track. Simons is due back in court on February 2, 2027, for a discovery conference.
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