From staff reports

Around closing time, on Monday, a Lake Charles restaurant was contacted by phone by an unknown male who identified himself as the Chief Financial Officer of the company.

The male ordered the manager to remove all cash from the safe and cash registers and travel to area Walgreens and CVS stores and put the cash onto gift cards and give him the numbers.

The male told the manager that a United States Marshal was with him and if she failed to comply, she would be arrested.

This case is currently being investigated by the Lake Charles Police Department.

Since April 2017, the same scam targeting fast food and restaurant chain stores has been used in California, Washington, Arkansas and Texas.

In May of this year, Dollar General in Orange was also a victim of the same scam, according to a previous article in The Orange Leader.

A clerk received a call from a person identifying himself as a member of the loss prevention team and to get activate five gift cards ranging from $20- $500. According the individual, the team was updating the system and the cards would be canceled after the update.

Shortly after the transaction, the actual loss prevention team called asking why the clerk cashed so many cards, according to police reports.

When the clerk explained what had happened, she was informed she had been tricked.