A Wright City man is facing a felony charge after allegedly stealing more than $24,000 from the FastLane gas station convenience store located at 1010 N State Highway 47 in Warrenton, where he was general manager.
Scott Brannam was charged Sept. 9 in Warren County Circuit Court with stealing $750 or more.
On May 29, Warrenton Oil Company, which owns the FastLane property, advised Warrenton police that a continuous theft of currency had been ongoing involving a former employee, Brannam, who had since been terminated, according to a probable cause statement.
Brannam was responsible for overseeing the daily reconciliation process and training other employees in those procedures, according to the statement. An assistant manager told police that Brannam had instructed her to use a combined lottery report in doing the reconciliation, which she believed was contrary to proper procedure.
A district manager agreed that the use of the combined report was improper procedure, and also identified a day when reported revenue did not correspond with reported sales. Further analysis ultimately revealed that $24,345 remained unaccounted for after applying the correct methodology.
After subsequent analysis of video surveillance at the store, police identified nine separate occasions in April and May when Brannam was caught on camera "separating currency from the business and physically concealing it on his person,” according to the probable cause statement.
An arrest warrant for Brannam, born in 1973, was issued Sept. 10, with his bond set at $25,000 cash only.
