Florida state authorities arrested a group of five men of Cuban origin accused of committing dozens of crimes against retail businesses in at least 13 counties over the last two years, with Home Depot being one of the most affected businesses.
According to the authorities of the orange state, the detainees were identified as Maike Acosta de Armas, 47 years old; Lázaro Santiago Acosta de Armas, 45 years old; Yusser Echemendía Rodríguez, 42; Elías Ramos Hernández, 48; and Honasi Díaz Santos, 47.
A statement shared this Tuesday, April 2, by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) indicates that all those arrested resided in Miami-Dade County.
The FDLE characterized the group’s actions as an organized theft fraud scheme, so they now face multiple felony charges, including organized scheme to defraud $50,000 or more and retail theft of multiple items within a 30-day span in different locations.
#YourFDLE Miami arrested Maike Acosta De Armas, 47, Lazaro Santiago Acosta De Armas, 45, Yusser Echemendia Rodriguez, 42, Elias Ramos Hernandez, 48, and Honasi Diaz Santos, 47, for their involvement in a large-scale organized retail theft fraud scheme. pic.twitter.com/JuF1ARt8d8
— FDLE (@fdlepio) April 2, 2024
In accordance with The New Heraldauthorities confirmed that Home Depot was the business most affected by this criminal network, something that was determined thanks to an investigation that began in July 2022.
Since that date, Miami FDLE agents received a series of complaints that led them to the detection of 53 robberies in 13 counties (Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Indian River, Lee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach, Sarasota, St. Lucie and Volusia) who shared the modus operandi.
“The gang of organized thieves engaged in a systematic fraud scheme totaling more than $55,000 in losses to the company,” authorities said, noting that the scheme involved abusing the online wallet system.
They stole several items that they later claimed to have purchased “online,” returning the stolen merchandise to other stores in different locations using Internet receipts.
The investigation was carried out by the FDLE Miami Organized Crime Squad, which had the support of the Miami-Dade Police Department’s (MDPD) Retail Crime Squad.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said the group committed more than 53 robberies in 13 counties, illegally obtaining thousands of dollars in merchandise.
“In Florida we pursue organized retail thieves, and now this nefarious group, thanks to the work of our police collaborators, will have to answer for their crimes,” he added.
The authorities indicated that the five detainees had already been arrested in previous periods for similar crimes. Likewise, they noted that Lázaro Santiago Acosta de Armas was arrested by the Miami-Dade police in early 2024 on charges unrelated to the case, and since then he has been booked into the Metro West Detention Center, without the right to bail.
For his part, Echemendía Rodríguez was arrested in Broward on March 25 and booked into the county jail without bail. In April of last year, this Cuban was arrested in Miami-Dade on charges related to fraudulent refunds at more than 70 Home Depots in Florida and Illinois.
For its part, Maike Acosta of Guns and Ramos Hernández were arrested on March 27 and held at the Turner Guilford Knight Detention Center, while Díaz Santos is being held at the Florida Department of Corrections.
Maike Acosta of Arms and Lazarus Santiago Acosta of Arms They were arrested in October 2023 accused of defrauding several Home Depot stores.
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