Ex-Employee Charged in $100K Theft from Rochester Business Enters Plea Agreement

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A former employee accused of stealing from a southwest Rochester business has entered a guilty plea. 

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He was one of two people charged in the theft scheme that court documents say resulted in a more than $100,000 loss for the business. 

The Rochester men are accused of running the scheme from Nov. of 2022 through January of 2023. 

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Second Former Employee Charged in $100K Theft from Rochester Business Enters Guilty Plea

Court documents say the two employees would open new lines for the same group of individuals who had phone numbers and pass codes for existing accounts. 

Members of the group of people coming into the store would pay the sales tax on the transaction, then leave the store with new devices without paying for them, the charges say. 

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A store manager told Rochester police the duo gave out over 100 phones, tablets and watches. In exchange for opening lines, the defendants would get increased commission payments on the fake sales, according to the court documents. 

The complaints do not name the victimized business. 

The two men who were charged in the case were identified as 29-year-old Tavontae Timmy Kidd-Starks and 30-year-old Ajuda Mastar Nywesh. 

Kidd-Starks was accused of costing the store $36,849.55 in losses during the scheme. Nywesh is alleged to have given out $64,199.38 in free merchandise and services, the court documents state. 

Read More: Employee Theft Leads to Major Loss for Rochester Store 

Each man was charged with a count of felony theft by swindle and felony theft deprive of corporate property. 

Both Theft Defendants Convicted

Last year, Kidd-Starks entered a plea agreement and admitted to a felony theft charge involving the diversion of corporate property. He was sentenced in December to five years probation and ordered to pay $36,849 in restitution. 

Read More: $37K Restitution Set for Conviction in Rochester Phone Theft Case

Nywesh entered a plea agreement last week. He admitted to an amended felony theft charge in exchange for the dismissal of the two other counts and a recommended stayed prison sentence of up to five years.

The agreement also calls for Nywesh to pay $64,199.38 in restitution.