A Barefoot Bay man, Mark Joseph Bacon, is facing grand theft charges after allegedly embezzling more than $42,000 from Top Line Appliance in Melbourne between January and July 2023.
The store owner reported that Bacon, who had been employed at the store for seven months, was pocketing cash from appliance sales and deleting corresponding invoices to cover his tracks. The illicit activities came to light after the last incident was captured on the store’s video surveillance, leading to Bacon’s termination.
In one case, a customer handed Bacon $2,578 in cash for appliances. Despite issuing a store receipt and delivering the appliances, Bacon is accused of appropriating the money for himself.
A similar incident occurred with the same customer who, unaware of Bacon’s termination, placed another order directly with Bacon for $2,435 worth of appliances. The customer was instructed to meet at a Home Depot in Palm Bay to complete the transaction. Bacon allegedly accepted the cash and issued a receipt without delivering the transaction details to the store.
Concerns arose when Bacon became unresponsive to the customer’s calls and texts, prompting the customer to visit the store, where they discovered Bacon’s dismissal months prior.
Another instance involved a customer whose dryer malfunctioned, only to find that the store had no record of the purchase. Although informed that Bacon was no longer with the company, the store still honored the warranty. The customer disclosed to investigators that he had paid cash for the dryer, which Bacon had delivered.
The police investigation revealed that Bacon managed to embezzle a total of $42,887.65 across 42 invoices, leaving the store short on both cash and inventory. Following the investigation, Bacon was arrested and charged with grand theft. He was transported to the Brevard County Jail, with bail set at $16,000.
