A South Carolina truck driver was charged after being accused of stealing and selling his shipment instead of dropping it off at the designated locations.
Christopher Thomas, 55, was arrested on Saturday, Nov. 25, and charged with breach of trust with fraudulent intent, according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. He was transported to a local jail with a $50,000 surety bond.
Officials say Thomas was working for Pilgrim’s Pride and instructed to deliver an estimated 41,000 pounds of chicken at two sites in Milton, Georgia. The shipment was worth approximately $80,000.
Thomas of Florence, South Carolina, sold the majority of the chicken after making drop-offs to several buyers before he was stopped by authorities, who received a tip about his alleged activity.
Deputies went to a location where Thomas planned to make an exchange. When they arrived at the scene, they conducted a traffic stop and executed a search. According to authorities, when deputies looked through the truck, they discovered cases of stolen, frozen chicken from his employer. He was then taken into custody and could face up to 10 years behind bars.
“He was arrested with approximately seven pallets loaded with 215 cases of chicken weighing 8,000 pounds remaining,” the sheriff’s office said. “It is believed that Thomas sold about 33,000 pounds of chicken.”
A worker at Pilgrim’s Pride spoke to WIS-TV under anonymity, saying that something similar has happened before, seemingly referring to a case in May where two men were accused of stealing $40,000 worth of chicken breast from Pilgrim’s Pride.
”I don’t know how you get $80,000 worth of chicken out of the plant in the first place,” the worker told the outlet, adding, “I’m not entirely sure how this is happening to be honest. That’s a lot of chicken to be stolen out of there twice so I really have no idea how they’re even doing it and what they’re doing to stop it.”
Earlier this year, an Illinois school employee was charged after officials said she stole $1.5 million worth of food, mainly chicken wings, from the district.
