6 women plead guilty to Victoria's Secret fraud that cost company $100,000

Six Connecticut women have pleaded guilty in a scheme that involved stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of Victoria's Secret merchandise, federal prosecutors said.

A seventh person is awaiting trial.

The scheme involved returning stolen merchandise as if the item's receipt had been lost and being given a gift card worth the stolen item's value.

The gift card was then used to purchase an item that was slightly more expensive and using a debit card to cover the remainder of the cost.

The purchased item was returned with a real receipt, except the full balance — which included the value of the stolen item — was credited back to a debit card.

The wire fraud scheme resulted in a loss of more than $100,000 to L Brands stores in Connecticut and Massachusetts. L Brands owns Victoria's Secret and other companies like PINK and Bath & Body Works.

L Brands did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

The scheme took place in 2019.