Feds: Pennsylvania Man Uses Unique Ripoff Scheme to Score $444,000 from Local Lowe’s Stores

CLEVELAND, Ohio (News Talk 1480 WHBC) – A unique way to rip off a couple of area Lowe’s stores, including the one in Alliance, but the extent of the theft is what is surprising.

47-year-old Chad Stellato from eastern Pennsylvania pleaded to federal wire fraud charged in connection with a $444,000 three-year long scheme where he purchased boxes of floor tile at a low price, then returned them to another Lowe’s store without a receipt, receiving a refund for higher-priced tile.

He did so by stacking large quantities of the expensive tile on a cart, putting only a few boxes of the cheaper stuff on top, with the clerk not noticing the difference.

He’ll be sentenced in April.