When there’s an unsolved crime, FOX13 points you to CrimeStoppers to give tips and get paid.
But one former CrimeStoppers officer was sentenced to six months in prison after she pleaded guilty to stealing over $18,000 from CrimeStoppers, according to court records.
Federal records show Hutchison used her position in law enforcement to enter fraudulent information into the database, so that a co-conspirator, identified only as “KB,” could pose as a tipster and get paid.
Memphis Police (MPD) had two officers assigned to review tips that lead to payouts from CrimeStoppers. Arica Hutchinson was one of them.
“Why would she take money that’s not her?” Tunion Newborn asked.
Hutchison had been working the CrimeStoppers beat with MPD since 2016. But court documents said she worked out a way to collect those cash prizes for herself.
Her job was to document tips that come into CrimeStoppers and send them out to investigators. Those investigators document whether the tip was useful into a CrimeStoppers database. A civilian board then looks at that database and sends out rewards.
Federal records show Hutchison used her position in law enforcement to enter fraudulent information into the database, so that a co-conspirator, identified only as “KB,” could pose as a tipster and get paid.
“Because you have a position of power, you have a right to do that,” Wyvonna Williams said.
In the first case laid out in federal records, two suspects tried to rob and then shoot a victim. A tip led to their arrests. And a $1,000 reward was approved.
But then, a month later, Hutchison updated the database to schedule a pickup for her co-conspirator to get the cash.
In the second case, another tipster identified a serial robbery suspect. Hutchinson again updated the database to set up KB to get the reward. When it came time to pick up the reward money, however, FBI agents were there, and the scheme unraveled.
“By them doing wrong like that, what does that tell us?” Newborn said. “It’s not fair and someone needs to be held accountable for the money that was taken.”
