West Bend woman charged with felony theft at Menomonee Falls hair salon

Voided cash transactions at Menomonee Falls Cost Cutters totaled $5,555

MENOMONEE FALLS — Jada Ovalle, a 25-year-old West Bend woman, has been charged with a felony for allegedly stealing over $5,500 from a Cost Cutters in Menomonee Falls where she worked at the time.

According to the criminal complaint from the Waukesha County Circuit Court, the alleged thefts came to light on Feb. 15 when a customer came into the store looking to return an item purchased with cash, but the employee helping the customer was unable to find any record of the transaction. Upon review of the store’s security footage of the original transaction, Ovalle is alleged to have been seen to cancel the transaction, shuffle the money with her hands and put it in her pocket instead of the cash register.

Following this discovery, business owners conducted an audit, finding the company to have lost $5,555 across 237 cancelled transactions.

Officers made contact with Ovalle on Feb. 18, at which point she admitted to the thefts. Law enforcement took her in without incident, and Ovalle provided a 1 1/2-page written statement admitting to committing thefts of cash between July 2024 and February. She claimed that she had been doing so to help offset her bills following a brain surgery she had undergone last year.

The complaint also indicated that Ovalle expressed remorse for her actions, and that she would “do what she had to do to repay the business.” When she was informed what the total losses were, she replied that “she did not have that much money at this time but would do what she needed to do.”

Ovalle faces a felony charge of theft in a business setting for a total over $5,000. If convicted, she could face a maximum of 6 years in prison as well as up to a maximum of $10,000 in fines. Her next appearance in court is scheduled to be a preliminary hearing on March 19 at 10:15 a.m.