MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Myrtle Beach police say they arrested a man Tuesday accused of taking advantage of more than two dozen hotel customers.
Online booking records from Myrtle Beach police state that 26-year-old Troy Kyle Heaton has been charged with breach of trust.
Police responded to Carolina Winds on 76th Avenue North in February after someone that worked at the hotel learned Heaton, who was an employee at the time, was secretly taking funds from customers. When they reviewed Heaton’s transaction history, they observed 28 occasions where suspicious transactions occurred.
According to the police report, victims would reserve a room at the hotel and would be required to put a deposit down. If they called to cancel the reservation, Heaton would tell them that the hotel did not offer refunds on reservations and then he would refund the money for the cancelled reservation on to a prepaid credit card for himself. The person who reported the suspicious transactions to police in the spring clarified that the hotel gives a full refund to anyone who cancelled seven or more days before the date of their stay.
The police report also says Heaton is accused of charging victims a flat rate for the room, then once the transaction took place, placing a discount on the room and refunding the amount discounted on to a prepaid credit card.
The report details instances where Heaton embezzled anywhere from $50 to $226 from the 28 victims. Police say the incidents span from March of 2016 to January 2017.
More than $3,200 was refunded to various prepaid credit cards, according to Myrtle Beach police.
