I am trying to get some advice.
I just got a letter from a lawyer, telling me that my former employer, Ross Store in California, is accusing me of taking merchandise from the store. (California Penal Code Section 490.5). I do not know what they have against me, since I never took anything out of the store without paying for it. The only thing is that when I gave them a 2-week notice, they did not let me quit and made me come in so they could terminate me for the following reason:

I used my father's ID to return an item without a receipt, because I was not the one who bought it in the first place; a friend of mine gave it to me for my birthday. Since I had an employee discount, and this item was bought without a discount, I thought that returning it with my ID would make them think I bought it with the discount and am returning it without one. Then I used the store credit to buy something with my discount, and the computer alerted the Loss Prevention of this. I clearly explained to them what happened in writing, as the requested, but, now, about a month later they are requesting that I pay them $400 in damages. (The item was only $40).

Please, help me with any advice of what I should do.

Thank you in advance.