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Renauld Medard, 75, got 30 months and and 31-year-old Wesly Dieudonne 28 months from a U.S. District Court Judge Anne E. Thompson, who convicted both of wire fraud and conspiracy after a four-day bench trial in Trenton.
As part of the scheme, Medard and Dieudonne bought various items from Home Depot locations in the tri-state area, as well as in Maryland and Pennsylvania, using cash, credit cards or store credit, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said.
"Medard and Dieudonne also went to Home Depot stores and compiled identical sets of goods as listed in receipts from previous purchases," he said.
"Under the guise that they had forgotten to purchase an item, usually an inexpensive one, they used receipts from previous purchases to deceive cashiers into believing that the new sets of goods had already been bought," Fishman said. "Medard and Dieudonne also went to Home Depot to return items stolen in the scheme.
"In some instances, they presented a receipt in order to effectuate the return. In other instances, they obtained a refund for store credit without presenting a receipt."
In addition to the prison terms, Thompson ordered Medard to serve three years of supervised release and pay $260,478 in restitution. Dieudonne was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $197,633 in restitution.
Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Secret Service with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Eskew and Andrew D. Kogan of his Economic Crimes Unit handled the case.
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