Steinbach woman guilty for stealing from former employer

A Steinbach woman will spend time under house arrest after stealing money and taking more tip money than allowed from her employer.

Kylie McKay Lajeunesse, a former employee at hair salon SmartStyle, plead guilty to one count of theft under $5,000 in a Steinbach court on Oct. 17.

“It’s a breach trust situation when you steal from an employer. Very often people end up going to jail and again, the fact that you plead guilty, the fact that you’ve got no record, I’ve certainly taken into account,” Provincial court Judge David Ireland told the court.

On June 28, 2024, the hair salon reported to Steinbach RCMP that an employee had stolen $1,475 over four months, according to the statement of agreed facts.

The salon did its own account of the lost money and discovered Lajeunesse entered tip amounts that customers never paid into the point-of-sale system. Court heard the salon also found she received a cash tip and also entered the tip amount into the system, receiving the tip a second time.

After the salon set up surveillance cameras, police viewed footage and found Lajeunesse taking cash from the register on June 26 and 27, 2024.

Besides the stolen money, the salon also had to pay to install surveillance cameras and do the accounting to see where the lost money went, Crown attorney Caitlin Hentig told the court.

“Of course employers don’t expect their employees to take money from them,” she said.

Defense lawyer Len Tailleur said Lajeaunesse came to court ready to pay $500 of the stolen money back. While not licensed as a hairdresser, Tailleur said she was working as an apprentice at the salon, using skills she learned through her high school’s programming.

“As you know, money can burn a hole in your pocket. So she’s showing in good faith towards that,” Tailleur said.

There were issues with the tipping at the salon, and Lajeunesse got angry and “took it out” on the business, he told the court.

“I surmise she took it out on the business because, in some respects, she didn’t feel she was treated properly regarding the tipping process,” Tailleur said, noting the business gave her $200 in withheld tips after the charges were laid.

Ireland sentenced Lajeunesse to a 12-month suspended sentence with supervised probation and an order to repay $1,475.

“You’re very young. You got to think about your whole life and wonderful life ahead of you,” he told the court. “You don’t need this to be anything but a blip right on your life’s journey.”