- A 26-year-old man is accused of embezzling $300,000 worth of store credit from Home Depot.
- Posing as a contractor, he obtained Andersen doors from 61 different stores without paying, according to prosecutors.
- He would then return the doors and receive refunds at the store’s service department, as confirmed by officials.
A man from Connecticut stands accused of defrauding Home Depot by exploiting a flaw in their system, resulting in a loss of $300,000 in store credit.
Alexandre Henrique Costa-Mota, aged 26, would assume the identity of a contractor and target various Home Depot locations across eight states, as reported by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island.
Costa-Mota, dressed inconspicuously as a contractor with a distinctive black portfolio and a yellow measuring tape attached to his pants, meticulously executed his scheme between June 2021 and February 2022, managing to visit 61 different stores, according to court records reviewed by Insider.
The Secret Service agent who investigated the case revealed that Costa-Mota would load Andersen doors onto a lumber cart during each visit, then proceed to the store’s service department to obtain refunds. To bypass Home Depot’s security measures, he utilized counterfeit driver’s licenses or falsified IDs bearing fake names.
At times, Costa-Mota would leave the store with the doors and return later for the refunds. If certain stores rejected his attempts to return the items without proof of purchase, he would simply proceed to another location to secure the refunds, ensuring he never left empty-handed.
In total, Costa-Mota managed to acquire 370 store credits through his elaborate scheme, with an estimated value of $297,332, according to officials. It is worth noting that some of the stolen doors were valued at $350 to $400 each.
Andersen doors, available at Home Depot, are known to fetch thousands of dollars.
Surveillance footage further revealed Costa-Mota’s consistent choice of attire, particularly his recurring footwear and a gold wristwatch worn on his left wrist whenever he retrieved or refunded the stolen doors.
Costa-Mota now faces charges of wire fraud and conspiracy. Currently, he is being held without bail.
An attorney representing Costa-Mota was not available for comment at the time of writing.
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