Orlando man accused of scamming Home Depot stores across the state, FDLE says

Authorities arrested a man from Orlando, accusing him of being part of a theft ring that cost Home Depot a loss of more than $50,000, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Tuesday.

Rajesh Sanichar, 55, was arrested May 24 after an investigation found he was part of an organized group of at least three people that were committing retail theft and fraudulent returns across Home Depot stores around the state between November 2020 and March 2021.

He is charged with one count of organized scheme to defraud over $50,000 and 10 counts of criminal use of personal identification information.

Rasheed Apanpa, 39, of Miami, was charged with one count of organized scheme to defraud under $20,000 and two counts of criminal use of personal identification information.

According to an FDLE release, Apanpa would empty boxes of tile that were being sold at the home improvement stores and then fill them with other items that were more expensive and smaller in size, such as mosaic tiles, saw blades, putty knives and plugs. Once the boxes were stuffed with higher priced merchandise, he would pay for the lower cost tile and not the expensive concealed merchandise, the release said.

After stealing the items, Sanichar, allegedly used fake ID cards to return the stolen items for in-store credit, which he would then sell, FDLE said.

The scam resulted in a loss of more than $60,000 at stores in Orlando and Miami, the release said.

Sanichar was booked into the Orange County Jail last month. Court records show he paid his $17,500 bond to get out of Orange County Jail shortly after being arrested, with an arraignment scheduled for July 12.

Apanpa was arrested on Tuesday and booked into the Broward County Jail.

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