Server accused of taking $10K in tips at North Carolina restaurant

CARY, N.C. (WPVI) -- A bartender is facing a charge after police said she stole $10,000 in tips at a Cary restaurant.

Police said between January 1 and the beginning of June, management discovered 26-year-old Erika Denton had altered several food receipts at Tasu Asian Bistro.

According to arrest warrants, she changed the food amount with the tip amount, resulting in a bigger tip she could pocket.

However, the total bill would stay the same, so the money was not coming out of the pockets of the customers.

Tasu management sat down with 6abc sister station, ABC11, and showed some of the altered receipts.

The tip on one more than tripled.

"It is very disappointing," said manager Katrina Oliver. "It's really hard to find people that you can trust that they can be loyal to you."

Denton was fired in February and Friday, faced a judge on the charge.

Denton was arrested and charged with falsely obtaining property by false pretense.

The 26-year-old posted her $2,500 bond.

ABC11 stopped by the home address listed on her arrest warrant.

Her dad and sister answered the door, but said Denton doesn't live there and they haven't seen her in a while.

Tasu management is now looking over every single receipt at night and making sure the numbers add up. They're also going to start performing background checks on employees.

"We want to make sure that when we hire people, that they will stay with us longer and they can provide excellent customer services to our guests," say Oliver.

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