Cashier accused of stealing $300,000 from popular Bradenton butcher shop, deputies say

A DeSoto County woman is accused of stealing as much as $300,000 from a well-known local Bradenton business.

Felicia Stivers, 52, of Arcadia, has been arrested and charged after investigators say she used transaction reverses to pocket money from the register at The Chop Shop , a local specialty butcher shop and longtime Manatee County staple.

Detectives said they began investigating when the owner of the family-run meat and seafood shop reported the theft to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office in March.

The owner told the sheriff’s office that while reviewing transactions from the beginning of 2024, she noticed a pattern of cash reverses in the system. Further investigation revealed that Stivers stole between $150,000 to $300,000 from the store over two years, according to arrest records.

When confronted by the owner and later detectives about the alleged theft, investigators say Stivers told them both she did steal money but said the figures presented by the owner were a “shock.” According to arrest records, she told deputies that didn’t steal “anywhere near” the alleged amount.

Stivers’ attorney did not immediately respond to the Bradenton Herald for comment.

Cashier accused of stealing from Bradenton butcher shop

The owner told detectives the alleged theft had gone unnoticed until recently, largely due to the amount of trust placed in Stivers, who had been a cashier at the store for about three years. She said Stivers would deal with payroll, bank runs and cash reverses.

Stivers and the owner were the only two people at The Chop Shop with the authority to perform cash reverses, the owner told detectives. Stivers is accused of reversing transactions and pocketing the money for herself, deputies say.

It was only after the owner discovered more than $300,000 in cash reverses from 2022 to March 2024 that she realized the discrepancies, detectives said.

After seeing the number of cash reverses, the owner checked the security footage and provided video surveillance from Feb. 28 through March 14 to detectives, which appeared to show Stivers pocketing around $6,000 from the business, according to arrest records.

Deputies with the Desoto County Sheriff’s Office arrested Stivers on an out-of-county warrant for the fraud charges on June 21, with Stivers released from jail the next day after posting bond, according to court records.

Records show Stivers appeared in a Manatee County courtroom on June 25, and pleaded not guilty. She is charged with scheming to defraud $50,000 or more, according to court documents.

The crime is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, according to Florida Statutes .

Stivers is next scheduled to appear in court on August 16.