Dozens of high-end appliances were seized from a warehouse Wednesday after police uncovered an alleged scheme, in which merchandise was fraudulently purchased and resold.
Dozens of high-end appliances were seized from a warehouse in West Park Wednesday after police uncovered an alleged scheme, in which merchandise was fraudulently purchased and resold.
Broward Sheriff's Office said more than $80,000 in TV's, refrigerators and A/C units were seized in the raid. Detectives said employees of Santiago Cargo Express used stolen credit card information from across United States to purchase the merchandise online, totaling close to $100,000.
"They would have them shipped to wherever their respective address was, whether it was in Wisconsin, California, etc., but then last minute they would change the shipping address to the location where we're standing," said Sgt. Christopher De Giovanni.
Deputies and home depot investigators spent hours Wednesday categorizing the appliances. It appears the bulk of the allegedly stolen items are from Home Depot. All other appliances will remain in BSO's possession until deputies identify what company they were purchased from.
Detectives believe the scheme involved selling the appliances to buyers in the Dominican Republic. Officials say they are questioning the manager, his spouse, and two employees of the cargo company.
"A lot of people disconnect themselves, suspects thinking that it's a victim-less crime, but identity theft, credit card scheme to defraud is obviously not a victim-less crime," said De Giovanni.
Four people were detained and police said they were not yet facing charges.
