CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – The Salvation Army is conducting an audit of the Clarksville chapter’s Kroger gift card program after theft allegations were made by outside sources.
The program donates Kroger gift cards to Angel Tree families during the holiday season.
Captain Jimmy Steele, current commander of the local chapter, was accused by concerned citizens of attempting to sell the gift cards online through eBay and a trading card site known as blowoutcards.com.
The online Blowout Cards users became suspicious after he tried to sell them the Kroger cards as they were attempting to purchase trading cards. One user started a comment thread that linked Steele to various usernames.
Major Jim Arrowood, Divisional Commander for the KY/TN Divisions of the Salvation Army, confirmed the audit of the gift card program, but could not comment further. He did not say whether Steele is still with the organization.
Arrowood said the audit could take a significant amount of time before any findings are revealed.
Calls to Steele were not immediately returned.
Regional Kroger representative Melissa Eads said Kroger is aware of the audit and is keeping in contact with the Salvation Army to make sure the situation is investigated thoroughly.
Eads did not say what impact the audit might have on the Angel Tree program.
“Salvation Army does great work for a lot of people and its programs mean a lot to many,” she said. “We don’t want to see that suffer in any way.”