GRESHAM, Ore. (KOIN 6) – Two Kmart employees are accused of coming up with a way to steal about $22,000 from the retail store, according to police.

Guadalupe Aguilargovea, 19, was arrested by Gresham Police Thursday afternoon in the 1000-block of Southeast 190th. He was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center. Police have charged him with one count each of aggravated first-degree theft, computer crime and first-degree theft. He is also charged with 37 counts of aggravated identity theft.

Police said Aguilargovea and Allan James Parsons, 19, opened more than 3,700 fraudulent accounts with the Kmart “ShopYouWay” rewards program. During the holiday shopping period, Kmart was randomly drawing names from those who had registered. Winners would be able to print out barcodes that acted like gift cards in the amount of $5, $10 or $15.

Because they had essentially flooded the system, police said that Aguilargovea and Parsons were frequently selected, and were able to print out the CPU codes that acted like gift cards. They would then order items online, police said. The two would put their orders on layaway and then pay off the balance using the winnings that were obtained fraudulently using the printed gift cards, police said.

Aguilargovea and Parsons managed to gain access to $22,000 in gift cards, police said.

Officials stressed that no real customer data was breached. They said this was not a hack of Kmart’s computer system.

Kmart investigators alerted police to the suspicious activity earlier this month. Police said the scheme started in mid-November. Records show that Parsons is a part-time employee and has worked for Kmart for just over a year.

Aguilargovea is scheduled to appear in court Friday afternoon.

Parsons was arrested and charged with second-degree theft, computer crime and conspiracy to commit first-degree theft. The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office issued a “no complaint” at his arraignment. Officials said that gives both prosecutors and law enforcement more time to review the case. Parsons has been released from jail.

Court records show that Parsons is a student at Mt. Hood Community College.

Records show Aguilargovea had been employed with Kmart for about month.