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An Illinois middle school teacher claims a 13-year-old student stole her wallet and then used her credit card to go on a spending spree.
Mason-Clark Middle School art teacher Tammy Huggins in St. Louis said she didn’t immediately realize her wallet had been stolen until she received a text regarding several charges made on her credit card on March 21, First Alert 4 reported.
“I saw there was a $220 charge for Shein and immediately, I went to check my purse,” Huggins said.
Her wallet, containing multiple credit cards, her licenses, and $200 in cash, was missing.
However, Huggins said she had a hunch about who was behind the theft once she realized where the credit card purchases were being made.
“I was like ‘oh, Shein. I know who did this,’” she said, referring to the popular clothing company.
Huggins said several students later shared that their classmate boasted about stealing the credit card from her wallet and even told them he made the Shein purchases and used it to order Doordash.
The Mason-Clark Middle School school principal, Renaldo Jackson, addressed the issue and assured the art teacher she would be made “whole” and receive an apology from the student.
“The principal said, ‘The family wants to make you whole. She wants to apologize,’ and he gave me the one credit card,” Huggins told the outlet.
Principal Jackson sent a letter to school parents explaining the situation.
The letter, obtained by First Alert 4, alleged that the 13-year-old student’s parents took full responsibility for their child’s actions, offered to pay Huggins full restitution for the money stolen and used on the credit card, and the student wrote the teacher a formal apology.
Jackson also claimed that school administrators contacted law enforcement about the incident and supported Huggins in filing a police report independently.
However, Huggins claims what was written in the letter is false.
As of March 29, the art teacher said she had only received the one credit card handed to her by the principal and nothing else.
She still had yet to get back the other cards, the $200 in cash, her licenses, and her wallet.
“I’m a teacher. I live paycheck-to-paycheck and $200 to a principal, maybe is nothing but $200,” Huggins told the outlet.
“It is the difference between me buying the sticker for my car and not buying the sticker for my car and he just blew it off.”
Huggins said she has filed a police report over the incident.
The East St. Louis School District told First Alert 4 in a statement that they take situations of “lost or missing property seriously.”
“We take all reports of lost or missing property seriously and address them in accordance with our policies and procedures. Our priority is to maintain a safe and respectful learning environment for all students and staff,” the district said.
“While we cannot comment on specific situations, we remain committed to fostering a culture of integrity and responsibility within our schools.”
The Post has contacted the East St. Louis School District for comment.
