GRAPEVINE, TX — A former fast-food worker is facing serious felony charges after allegedly orchestrating a high-tech “catering heist” that left a local Chick-fil-A reeling.
Grapevine Police have charged 23-year-old Keyshun Jones with property theft, money laundering, and evading arrest following a bizarre series of events that involved 800 trays of the chain’s popular mac-and-cheese—without a single noodle ever leaving the kitchen.
The Heist: Behind the Counter and Under the Radar
According to investigators, the scheme began about a month after Jones had been fired from the restaurant. Despite no longer being an employee, police allege Jones returned to the Grapevine location, walked behind the service counter, and accessed the restaurant’s Point-of-Sale (POS) system.
Once logged in, the suspect reportedly rang up massive catering-sized orders of mac-and-cheese. Each large tray retails for approximately $100. However, instead of taking the food, he allegedly used the system to issue unauthorized refunds for the orders—totaling a staggering $80,000 (£58,800)—directly back to his personal credit cards.
Caught on Camera
The brazen act was captured on the restaurant’s surveillance footage. In the video shared by the store, the suspect is seen operating a register while dressed in a brown puffer vest, blue jeans, and a backwards white cap—a stark contrast to the chain’s signature red polo uniform.
The store’s management eventually noticed the massive discrepancies in their digital records, leading to a police investigation that spanned several weeks.
The Arrest: A Multi-Agency Manhunt
Bringing the suspect into custody proved difficult. The Grapevine Police Department stated that they attempted to arrest Jones multiple times before he was finally apprehended on April 17.
His capture was the result of a joint operation involving the Texas Attorney General’s Fugitive Task Force and the Fort Worth Police Department. Records show that Jones is currently being held at the Green Bay Unit in Fort Worth. While he faces multiple felony counts, his legal counsel has currently declined to comment on the allegations.
A Massive Financial Hit
To put the $80,000 theft into perspective, the Chick-fil-A catering menu lists a large mac-and-cheese tray as containing nearly 10,000 calories. Jones’s alleged fraud was the financial equivalent of 800 of these trays, a massive loss for a single franchise location.
It remains unclear what led to Jones’s initial termination from the company before the alleged fraud took place.
What do you think, North Texas? Are you surprised that a former employee was able to walk behind a counter and access a register so easily? Should fast-food chains have stricter security on their refund systems?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
