Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution has accused Edrey Santo Rojas of stealing electrical wire valued at $28,000. Rojas stole wire from Lowe’s and Home Depot locations in fifteen counties around Florida and the Southeast of the United States, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Rojas purchased pricey wire over a period of seven months using the barcodes from cheaper wire and then made fictitious returns for complete reimbursements.
Rojas’s technique was exchanging the barcodes from more costly wire for those from less expensive wire. Using his debit card, he paid a discounted fee for the wire. He would then select wire that matched the receipt from a different store and make a fake return.
Rojas committed 78 documented thefts and fraudulent returns from Lowe’s and Home Depot in nine Florida judicial circuits over the course of the seven-month period. The total loss according to surveillance and receipts is $28,405.
Rojas is charged with several felonies related to retail theft, including two counts of second-degree felony-level retail theft of $3,000 or more, one count of second-degree felony-level retail theft of 20 or more items, and one count of third-degree felony-level retail theft of $750 or more.
Rojas is being held on a number of prior allegations, which include resisting arrest, trespassing on work sites, burglary, and possession of burglary equipment. In addition, he has a no bond detainer for three crimes that include grand theft and credit card fraud. The matter is being handled by Attorney General Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.
