A popularity contest that pits snobby Saks Fifth Avenue against a lady who gave away free money? It's no contest! Saks is mad because this lady—who worked there—gave away $1.4 million of their money. Counterpoint: people like money!

Cecille Villacorta was legitimately the best-sellling salesperson that Saks ever had. Her winning strategy: she gave customers real refunds for "returns" and "gift cards" that were imaginary. In other words, she was running her own personal cash-back program. Which made her incredibly popular with shoppers! As you might imagine. She gave away $1.4 million, but she sold $27 million worth of crap for Saks, and made hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in commissions.

And how did Saks thank her for her outside-the-box sales techniques? By pressing charges! Villacorta was found guilty of "falsifying business records" to increase her commissions (by a mere $48K). Now it's time for her sentencing, and Saks is all "Send her to jail, giving away $1.4 million of our money without asking us is wrong, blah blah blah."

"When employees steal from companies, they are not just violating the trust of their employer and damaging the reputation of the company that employs them; they are picking the pockets of all Americans," Andrea Robins, the director of customer relations for Saks Fifth Avenue, said in court on behalf of the company.

Meanwhile the rest of the world is like "What was that, I didn't hear you, I was too busy being happy that this lady gave me free money, so why don't you shut up, rich guy?" Man, Saks, you have a lot to learn about people. They do like free money and they don't like rich faceless corporations, which is why we'll be giving out free "refund" checks from Gawker Media all day today. Stop by and take one!
[NYT]