Fake Vendor Accused of Ripping Off Rochester Business

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A man impersonating a vendor is accused of committing a theft of thousands of dollars worth of items from a Rochester business.

See Also: Police Investigating Series of Rochester Race-Based Burglaries

That’s according to a criminal complaint filed in Olmsted County Court on Wednesday. Rochester police responded to the theft at the unnamed business on Tuesday night.

The court document says a man, later identified as 44-year-old Joshua Allan Mueller, had posed as a vendor to gain access to an area of the store that was off limits to customers.

Get our free mobile app

Rochester Man Impersonating Vendor Caught Stealing Over $3k Worth of Trading Cards, Complaint says

Mueller would enter the store with his own boxes, cut open the bottom of the store’s boxes that contained trading cards, then put the cards into the boxes he brought into the store, the complaint alleges.

He would then walk out of the store with the merchandise. The complaint says a surveillance camera captured the alleged theft.

Mueller complaint. Olmsted County Court

The Rochester man admitted the cards he had were not his during a conversation with store staff. The value of the allegedly stolen cards was estimated at $3,400, the court document says.

Mueller is charged with one count of felony theft. He was released without bail following his first court appearance on Wednesday and is due back in court later this month.