A Butler man was charged with 281 felony counts of fraud after police said he used his employer’s credit card to purchase gift cards worth more than $31,000 over two years.

Charges were filed Thursday against Joshua S. Carson, 36, by state police in Westmoreland County. Carson was released under an unsecured bond of $100,000.

The investigation began in 2019, according to charging documents, when Carson’s employer at C&W Works in Gibsonia identified questionable charges on his credit card.

The investigating officer said the employer kept American Express cards in company trucks for fuel purchases.

“He noticed numerous purchases at GetGo for $129 and $139, which he thought was unusual,” the officer said.

Carson was suspected of making the fraudulent purchases after the employer saw charges of similar value on the card provided to Carson, according to charging documents.

“(He) approximated there was over 150 fraudulent purchases on (Carson’s) credit card and valued the loss over $22,000,” the officer said.

Upon speaking with Giant Eagle Loss Prevention, police found the credit card was used to purchase gift cards with an Advantage Card in the name of Norma Giza.

In April 2021, police received records for the Advantage Card in four Microsoft Excel spreadsheets with transactions linked to the C&W Works company card. The spreadsheets detailed charges from May 2017 to August 2019.

“The grand total was $31,351.36, with 281 fraudulent charges,” the investigating officer said.

The gift card purchases were linked to GetGo stations in Delmont, Gibsonia and Sarver as well as Giant Eagle grocery stores in the Pittsburgh region.

Police said Carson reported that his grandmother, Giza, was ill and his caring for her prevented him from meeting with them about the alleged fraud.

Carson’s preliminary hearing before District Judge Jason Buczak was rescheduled for Aug. 8 after being continued Monday.