Six people are under arrest after running a massive scam, stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of power tools from Home Depot stores across Florida and Georgia, authorities said Tuesday.
Miami-Dade Police took 42-year-old Iosvanny Garcia, 44-year-old Jorge Hernandez-Garcia, 64-year-old Lazaro Cannet and 50-year-old Julio Vazquez into custody after it was discovered they stole over $650,000 worth of the equipment over 60 different visits to stores in the two states since August 1st.
Allegedly, the four would stuff cabinet boxes in the stores with tools, purchase the cabinets and take the boxes out of the store. After removing the tools – in some cases selling them to others, including 51-year-old Maria Martinez and 41-year-old Israel Borrego – the cabinets would be returned to a store for a full refund.
The criminal spree started in South Florida before moving to both the southwest part of Florida and the Orlando area, later moving into Georgia, authorities said.
The company contacted Miami-Dade Police after reviewing surveillance footage of incidents inside their stores, and MDPD launched an investigation.
All six people arrested face multiple counts – including organized fraud, grand theft and dealing in stolen property. They faced a judge in Miami-Dade Tuesday.
"This whole group is a sophisticated scheme to defraud Home Depot, going around the state purchasing cabinets, loading them up with stolen tools, then returning the cabinets and keeping the stolen tools," Judge Mindy Glazer said in court.
