Home Depot Targeted For $100,000 Fraud
DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. (CBSMiami.com) – A Deerfield Beach Home Depot was the target of a scam artist who allegedly cost the store nearly $100,000.
According to Broward Sheriff's Office, the scheme was cooked up by Bobby Joe Ellis Staley. The arrest report said Staley had been involved in credit card scams that hit other Home Depot stores.
According to the report, Staley would call the credit card company that handles Home Depot credit cards. Then, Staley would change the personal information of multiple companies that have Home Depot cards by adding his name as an officer/representative of the particular company.
The arrest report stated that when Staley added his personal information to the accounts, he would also change passwords and telephone numbers to allow him to obtain approval. He would then be able to make fraudulent purchases, according to the report.
Police caught up with Staley after a fraudulent purchase was made last November. Staley allegedly told the Home Depot clerk he was the vice-president of Sunblast Townhomes in Sunrise when he was making a large purchase.
Staley's name matched the company information in the Home Depot and he was able to answer all the questions and the purchase was approved, according to the clerk who waited on Staley. The clerk was suspicious and told police she called Sunblast Homes who said he wasn't employed by them.
The clerk then told Home Depot management about what she found. A Home Depot corporate investigator said that he contacted the credit card company and was able to confirm Staley's name was fraudulently added, according to the arrest report.
Once police began investigating Staley, they found that he had been arrested 40 times and convicted 34 times for various charges including: communications fraud, organized scheme to defraud, and other charges.
After his arrest, Staley was charged with one count of an organized scheme to defraud and 12 counts of unlawful use of a credit card. His bond was set at $112,000 and will have to wear an ankle monitor if he bond's out.
