MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In cases of unsolved crimes, FOX13 often directs the public to CrimeStoppers for tips and potential rewards. However, one former CrimeStoppers officer has been sentenced to six months in prison after pleading guilty to stealing more than $18,000 from the organization.
Arica Hutchinson was one of two Memphis Police Department (MPD) officers assigned to review tips that led to payouts from CrimeStoppers. “Why would she take money that’s not hers?” questioned Tunion Newborn.
Hutchinson had been with CrimeStoppers since 2016, but court records indicate she devised a scheme to collect cash rewards for herself. Her responsibilities included documenting tips that arrived at CrimeStoppers and relaying them to investigators. Those investigators would assess whether the tips were useful and enter the information into a CrimeStoppers database. A civilian board would then review the database and issue rewards.
Federal documents reveal that Hutchinson exploited her position to input fraudulent information into the database, enabling a co-conspirator, identified only as “KB,” to impersonate a tipster and claim the rewards.
In one case outlined in federal records, a tip led to the arrests of two suspects who attempted to rob and shoot a victim, resulting in a $1,000 reward approval. A month later, Hutchinson updated the database to arrange for her co-conspirator to pick up the cash.
In another instance, a tipster provided information on a serial robbery suspect. Once again, Hutchinson manipulated the database to facilitate KB’s reward collection. However, when the time came to collect the money, FBI agents were present, leading to the unraveling of the scheme.
“By them doing wrong like that, what does that tell us?” Newborn remarked. “It’s not fair, and someone needs to be held accountable for the money that was taken.”
Hutchinson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft from a program receiving federal funds. While she admitted to stealing $18,500, court documents only detail specifics from the two highlighted cases. KB is facing separate charges, and the status of that person’s case remains unknown.
