The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office has arrested four people for scheming to get cash from more than a dozen area businesses yesterday for purchases they never made.

Deputies spotted the group as they arrived at Walmart on Cattlemen Road in Sarasota and scattered throughout the parking lot. They initially thought the four were going to burglarize vehicles but quickly realized they were looking for discarded receipts for food items purchased with cash.

Ultimately the group visited 14 gas stations and grocery stores yesterday. Brandie Horsley would take receipts to customer service and say she meant to use her EBT food stamp card. She would ask that the card be charged for the receipt amount and the cash refunded to her instead. Most stores refused but at least three stores complied with the requests.

The suspects, 29-year-old Brandie Horsley, 45-year-old Thomas Harrison, 36-year-old David Walshaw and 30-year–old James Buck, all have criminal histories and all were charged with Scheme to Defraud. Additional charges are pending.