A West Hartford man was indicted and arraigned in federal court in Rhode Island inn connection with a multi-state scheme to defraud Home Depot stores.
By Ronni Newton
A West Hartford man has been detained and is facing federal charges connected to a multi-state scheme to defraud Home Depot, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Rhode Island announced Wednesday.
Alexandre Henrique Costa-Mota, 26, of West Hartford was indicted June 26 by a federal grand jury in Providence, RI, on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy. He was arraigned Tuesday, Aug. 1 before a United States Magistrate Judge, and ordered detained.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Costa-Mota participated in a scheme to defraud more than two dozen Home Depot stores in eight different states, including Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts – as well as stores in Maine, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey.
The scheme took place from at least June 2021 to February 2022, United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha said, obtaining 370 fraudulent store credits and defrauding the Home Depot stores of a total of approximately $297,332.
According to court documents, Costa-Mota allegedly entered the Home Depot stores empty-handed, dressed to appear to be a contractor. “He then collected Anderson doors, which he brought to each store’s Service Department where he made non-receipted returns of the doors. With each successful return, Costa-Mota was provided with a store credit that he later redeemed at other stores, mainly located in Connecticut. At times, when the stores refused to accept the receiptless returns, Costa-Mota simply exited the stores with the Anderson doors without paying for them and then returned the doors at other stores for store credit,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated.
The case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dulce Donovan, was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.
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