Did A Tennessee Police Officer Steal Thousands In Crime Stoppers Rewards?
Did a Tennessee police officer steal thousands in Crime Stoppers rewards? It’s been reported that she stole more than $18,000 in Crime Stoppers reward money!
To no surprise, it was kept under wraps until it was discovered by WREG Investigators. However, now lots of information has been brought to light and it is far from a good look. Not for her and not for the entire police department. Who steals from a Crime Stoppers rewards fund? Not the best idea.
Tennessee Police Officer Steals Thousands In Crime Stoppers Rewards
Stealing money doesn’t have to come from a bank or a cash register. Sure, those are very common ways to go about stealing money but there are countless other ways as well. You could steal money electronically, you could conduct an elaborate scam, or you could steal from Crime Stoppers rewards. It appears that’s what this police officer in Tennessee decided to do.
According to FOX 59, Arica Hutchinson was one of 2 officers assigned to sort through Crime Stoppers tips and then give that information to investigators. That means she had access to the tip database and all the documents in it. FOX 59 reports that from August 2023 through February 2024 Hutchinson used her position in law enforcement to enter fraudulent data into the Crime Stoppers database and had a person named “KB” receive rewards for tips. Documents reportedly show that tips for 2 separate crimes were approved for Crime Stoppers reward money. However, days before that reward payout was scheduled Hutchinson reportedly updated the database system and it’s unknown if she knew that system maintained an audit history listing noting which user made the modification, per FOX 59.
Surveillance cameras were able to witness “KB” at the payout location pull up and pick up the reward payment for both of the tips. According to FOX 59, records say that Hutchinson and KB fraudulently obtained $18,500 in rewards from Crime Stoppers. She was placed on leave back in February and then resigned in April. She has since been charged in federal court and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft from a program receiving federal funds. She has been sentenced to 6 months in prison plus 2 years of supervised release. She also has to pay $22,000 in restitution and abide by a list of terms. You can see a photo of Hutchinson provided by the City of Memphis below.
She’s not the first Tennessee officer to get in trouble with the law this year.
5 of the Craziest Cringeworthy Crimes Ever Committed
While committing crimes may seem black and white (you either broke the law or you didn’t), there are certainly some crimes that are dumber than others. Sometimes it’s the crime itself that’s wild, other times, it’s the people committing said crimes. These are 5 of the craziest, cringeworthy crimes ever committed.
Crimes can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone. However, it takes a very unique individual, a case study if you will, to commit some of these outrageously dumb crimes. Years ago, these criminals would have been featured on Spike TV or one of those America’s Dumbest Criminal shows. Today, I’m not sure if those shows are around…and I’m certain Spike TV isn’t around anymore. That’s a story for another time.
Someone being arrested. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Craziest Crimes
Crimes can happen for a number of reasons. They may happen out of necessity. They could also happen on accident. These crimes, however, do not fall into those categories. These crimes are different. None of these would accidentally happen. They also aren’t a matter of life or death. There’s no ethics quiz here, or any matters of ‘would you steal bread to support your family?’ These crimes, and criminals, aren’t straight up cringeworthy.
While all of these crimes are crazy and certainly cringeworthy, they also make for excellent conversation pieces. That’s why I’ve gone and found five examples of the wildest stories that Dave and Chuck the Freak have talked about and made a list highlighting the best of the best. Let’s be honest…what’s better than reading a story about one of the craziest crimes ever committed? Or, watching Dave and Chuck the Freak talk about some of the dumbest crimes ever committed? Personally, I’m going with the funny storytellers.
They add their own two cents and perspectives on these stories that nobody else could provide. Not even those talking heads on the dumbest criminal shows. Am I the only one who remembers those? I feel like they were a staple on TruTV or VH1, but now all I can find on TruTV is Impractical Jokers, which is awesome but…you get it. Let’s not delay! Here’s the list!
5 of the Dumbest Crimes Ever Committed
