GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A technology savvy 19-year-old Best Buy employee used her skills to bilk her employer out of nearly $40,000 over a five-month period.

JoHanna Rae Taylor faces as much as five years in prison when she is sentenced Sept. 9 in Kent County Circuit Court.

According to police, Taylor would order items online, have them shipped to her home. She would then manipulate the computers at the East Beltline Avenue SE store so that she could convert the price of the items to zero.

She used this method 82 times to get more than $35,000 in items including appliances and electronics, according to court records. Investigators also say the former cashier was able to get away with $561 in gift cards and $3,644 in cash. The total amount she is charged with stealing is $39,654.

Taylor, who was awarded Best Buy’s “gold star achievement” in October, was charged with embezzlement of $20,000 to $50,000 – a felony punishable by 10 years in prison.

But the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office says the Western Michigan University student was fully cooperative in the investigation and many of the stolen items were returned. The 2012 Wayland Union High School graduate was able to plead guilty July 30 to embezzlement of $1,000 to $20,000 which carries a five-year penalty.

According to court records, Taylor lives with her parents in Martin.

Taylor is also required to pay restitution to the company. She remains free on a $20,000 bond.

E-mail Barton Deiters: bdeiters@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/GRPBarton or Facebook at facebook.com/bartondeiters.5