Charleston, South Carolina --- Caleb Hood, 31, was sentenced to 4 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud for his role in a scheme to defraud a chain of home improvement stores.
Evidence presented to the court showed that Hood, while using fake identities, would go into home improvement stores throughout the District of South Carolina and steal merchandise. Once Hood had stolen the merchandise, he would then go to another of the store’s locations and return the merchandise. Hood would claim that he did not have the receipt for the merchandise, so the store would issue him credit in the form of a merchandise card. The funds on the merchandise card issued to Hood were not legitimately his because he never purchased the items he returned. From April 2019, up until the date of Hood’s arrest on March 2, 2022, Hood fraudulently obtained a total of $202,659.00.
“Caleb Hood used fake identities to steal over $200,000 from a chain of home improvement stores over a period of several years," said U.S. Attorney Adair F. Boroughs. “We appreciate the work of the Secret Service and Charleston Police Department in uncovering his scheme and helping to protect our local businesses from financial crimes."
“The Secret Service and Charleston Police Department are committed to investigating fraudulent activity which is detrimental not just to our local businesses, but to our nation’s economic infrastructure as a whole," said Ben Stafford, Resident Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Charleston Resident Office. “We are thankful for the tireless efforts of our partners in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, as they worked to see that justice was served in this case."
United States District Judge Richard M. Gergel sentenced Hood to 48 months in federal prison, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system. Hood was also ordered to pay the home improvement chain $202,659.00 in restitution.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and Charleston Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Amy Bower prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys