A Canadian supermarket has recently been exposed for a rather outrageous case of “falsifying beef prices”. An employee working in the meat department of a supermarket took advantage of his access to meat packaging and labels to repackage expensive beef, relabel it as cheaper meat, and even add a “50% OFF” discount, so that he and other employees could buy it at a lower price.
Some grilled meats that originally cost $40 to $50 were sold for only $10.52 after the label was changed; and stewed beef that cost about $20 to $30 was sold as minced beef for only $6.63. Even more outrageous, on one occasion he even put the already paid beef on top of the box, with another four unpaid beef bags underneath, and then simply carried the whole box out of the supermarket.
A Newfoundland court recently found employee Jins Joseph guilty of theft and eight counts of fraud. In his ruling, the judge went even further, describing the whole affair as a “scam” designed to gain financial benefits for himself and others. Premium beef “instantly” becomes cheap ground beef
Joseph was working at a Dominion supermarket in Corner Brook, Newfoundland at the time. After receiving an internal complaint, the supermarket assigned asset protection expert Markus Penney to investigate, and surveillance footage quickly recorded a series of unusual operations. The investigation found that Joseph would repackage higher-priced beef and then label it as lower-priced meat.
One common practice is to label stewed beef as ground beef. Investigators pointed out that stewed beef was significantly more expensive than ground beef, which was already one of the cheapest meats in the restaurant. In this way, simply changing a label can instantly cause the price of beef, which was originally high, to plummet. Joseph not only buys the meat that has been significantly discounted, but sometimes it is also given to other employees to buy. Grilled meat that cost $40-$50 ended up costing only $10.52.
One of the transactions captured by surveillance cameras was particularly outrageous. Joseph took a piece of roast from the supermarket shelf, then cut it up, repackaged it, relabelled it, and handed it to another employee to buy. The final receipt showed that the piece of meat had been mistaken for “ground beef” and sold for only $10.52. However, investigators testified that the normal price for this piece of roast meat should be around $40 to $50.
In another surveillance video, Joseph repackaged and relabelled the stewed beef before buying it himself. This time, the meat, which originally cost about $20 to $30, was once again labelled as “ground beef” and ultimately sold for only $6.63, including a $1.04 discount. Not enough? Let’s have another “50% OFF”!
In addition to labelling expensive beef as cheap beef, investigators also discovered another practice: directly applying 50% off labels. On April 2, 2025, surveillance footage showed Joseph taking a large piece of meat out of the freezer, repackaging it, labelling it, and then attaching a “50% OFF” sign to it. After his supervisor approved the discount, he bought the meat. The receipt shows that the meat was again labelled as “ground beef,” originally priced at $25.98, but after the 50% discount, you only need to pay about half the price.
However, investigators stated that this was not ground beef at all, but a “premium cut” that would normally be cut into steak or grilled meat. More importantly, the meat was still two days away from its optimal consumption date. Investigators stated that since the meat was still fresh, there was no reason to offer a 50% clearance discount. Four rib steaks were repackaged; I only paid for one package.
The surveillance footage also showed Joseph removing the original packaging from four rib steaks, repackaging them into two separate bags, changing the labels, and then taking them to the self-checkout area. He then labelled one of the packages 50% OFF. But in the end, he only paid for this one package. The actions in the other video were even more outrageous. Joseph first took a few jars of seafood sauce, weighed them on the electronic scale in the meat department, and printed the labels. He then proceeded to stick these printed labels onto four bags of ground beef that he had taken from the freezer. The final receipt shows that he bought the beef at half price, even though there was no 50% discount label on the beef packaging. Approximately $100 per week for 27 weeks
As the internal investigation deepened, Joseph was eventually interviewed by Mitchell Rose, the manager in charge of security systems at Dominion. According to Rose’s testimony in court, Joseph admitted in an interview that he had taken goods from stores without paying and had also lowered the price of goods before buying them at an even lower price. Moreover, these actions are not just for themselves, but also involve other people. Investigators said Joseph indicated that the behavior began around November 2024, with the meat involved averaging about $100 per week.
Based on a duration of approximately 27 weeks, investigators estimate that the entire incident caused Corner Brook Dominion a loss of approximately $2,700. Why does he do this? He said it’s because of the short working hours and low wages. Joseph also offered an explanation for his actions. He stated in court that he was born in India and later came to Canada to study. He felt disrespected at work by Dominion because the supermarket did not give him enough shifts and the salary was not high enough.
Joseph also claimed that the supermarket later reduced his working hours in order to “force him to leave.” He even accused the supermarket of other improper meat handling practices, including selling unsaleable meat at low prices to local restaurants and takeout shops, and argued that these practices could pose public health risks.
Joseph stated that he was aware of the numerous hidden cameras in the store and therefore had no intention of deceiving or stealing. He also admitted that some of his actions violated supermarket regulations, but claimed that he had obtained a permit. However, none of these explanations ultimately convinced the judge. Judge: This is a scam. Provincial Court Judge Wayne Gorman believes that the investigators’ testimony, surveillance footage, and shopping receipts combined are sufficient to prove that Joseph was continuously involved in repackaging meat and using false price tags, thereby artificially and significantly reducing the price of meat. The judge also pointed out a key issue: the meat was not expired, intended for disposal, or was not a product the supermarket was clearing out.
Instead, they come from regular shelves and freezers, where they could have been sold at the normal price. Before Joseph changed the price, the meat was not labeled with a discount at the supermarket. Therefore, the judge ruled that this matter was unrelated to “disposing of unsold meat”. The judgment stated: “This was a scam designed to financially benefit Joseph and others by fraudulently lowering the price of the meat purchased.” Ultimately, Joseph was convicted of theft and eight counts of fraud.