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Man accused of renting $800K worth of equipment from Home Depot and not returning it
A Georgia man is facing charges in connection with an $800,000 scheme to fraudulently rent equipment and tools from Home Depot then fail to return them, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced Tuesday.
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Man accused of renting $800K worth of equipment from Home Depot and not returning it
By Emily Van de Riet and TMX staff
Published: Oct. 29, 2024 at 9:48 AM MST|Updated: 14 hours ago
MACON, Ga. (TMX/Gray News) – A Georgia man is facing charges in connection with an $800,000 scheme to fraudulently rent equipment and tools from Home Depot then fail to return them, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced Tuesday.
Yasin Saleem, 45, of Macon, was indicted by a federal grand jury in June on charges of conspiracy and wire fraud. He was arraigned on Friday.
“Saleem and a crew of conspirators allegedly used fictitious driver’s licenses and fraudulent debit cards to exploit vulnerabilities within Home Depot’s equipment and tool rental service by stealing more than $800,000,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a statement.
According to the indictment, Saleem and co-conspirators allegedly used fake driver’s licenses to conceal their identities when renting equipment and tools from Home Depot.
They used debit cards with names that matched the fake licenses, though the accounts held the minimum funds necessary to complete the rental.
Saleem and co-conspirators then allegedly failed to return the items, disabling their GPS devices to avoid detection. The debit cards used for the rentals did not have sufficient funds to pay for the stolen items.
In total, Saleem and co-conspirators allegedly stole more than $800,000 worth of equipment.
The FBI is continuing to investigate the case.
