A Connecticut man was given nearly $300,000 in fraudulent Home Depot credit by walking into stores in several states, taking expensive doors, and then returning them without a receipt, federal prosecutors allege. Alexandre Henrique Costa-Mota, 26, of West Hartford, Connecticut, was detained without bail after a judge entered not-guilty pleas on his behalf this week in federal court in Rhode Island to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, per the AP.
- The ruse: Costa-Mota dressed to appear like a contractor and entered the stores empty-handed, prosecutors allege in court documents. He would then load a door or several doors worth hundreds of dollars each onto a lumber cart, take them to the service department, and return them without a receipt, authorities said. He was given a store credit that he later redeemed at other stores, prosecutors said. If the return was denied, he would allegedly take the doors without paying and return them at another store.
- Several states: Home Deport stores in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey were involved. The defendant was given about 370 fraudulent store credits between June 2021 and February 2022, prosecutors said.
A budding politician!
mortem tyrannis
izlamo delenda est …
He was framed!
When one door closes…
Shut the front door!
“Is that a 78″ x 36″ in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”
Open and shut case.
Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
ADOORable plan.
I think these jokes are off the wall and headed straight out the window.
Hopefully there is a door to his prison cell he won’t be able to do that to.
He did it too many times and he crossed the threshold of evidence.
Evidently the guy entered The Inner Sanctum (scary door opening noise) with the creeping door every time he committed a crime.
I hope the jury isn’t pre-hung.
He is in a real jamb now.
This case hinges on on the fact this guy has some real brass…
“Costa-Mota dressed to appear like a contractor …”
…what the hell does THAT mean? I’ve worked with countless contractors and there’s no “contractor uniform” or anything, contractors don’t really dress very uniquely although they may wear work boots more than the average gang member or hood rat. Certain ones might have shirts with a company name on it or reflective jackets, but about the only look consistent from one contractor to the next is an annoyed look.
Technically I work for a contractor in a larger sense, but I don’t look like I’d have any business carrying doors around a Home Depot, I’m a bit old and tubby for that, so I’m not really sure what a visual test for a “contractor” actually entails…
He may have sold a couple doors to Christine Blasey-Ford if she was triggered again by Kavanaugh…
He’s NOT a contractor, he’s a Doorman.