Crime & Safety

Police: Smyrna IHOP Server Pocketed Cash Payments

He allegedly covered up the scheme by paying for the bills with stolen credit and debit cards.

When customers at the Smyrna IHOP paid their bills with cash, one server allegedly pocketed the money.

According to a Cobb County criminal warrant, Jerrett Leon Brown of Lawrenceville told Smyrna Police Department investigators that he found credit and debit cards in Norcross, but never reported them lost or stolen.

Unbeknownst to the true cardholders, Brown allegedly used the pieces of plastic to pay for other customers' bills so he could keep their cash payments.

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"In addition, the accused was adding customers' purchases to loyalty cards which can be used for later purchases," the officer wrote in the warrant. "The accused was in possession of several loyalty card(s)."

Besides swiping the cards to hide the alleged scheme at the Smyrna IHOP, Brown is accused of splurging on himself.

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In one case, he admitted to using a Georgia man's military identification card to obtain discounts, records show. The card was in a wallet that Brown said he found.

"It is unknown at this time if any credit accounts were opened using the information," the officer wrote in the warrant.

In another case, Brown allegedly obtained a woman's Discover card information when she came to the IHOP on May 5. He allegedly tried to use the card on websites such as BestBuy.com and FootAction.com later that day, but Discover noticed the fraud and contacted the woman before the transactions were completed, according to the warrant.

Brown was arrested Thursday at the IHOP on charges that include four counts of financial card transaction fraud, four counts of identity fraud, one count of theft by taking and one count of theft by receiving stolen property. He is in the Smyrna City Jail without bond.


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