Madison man sentenced for scam involving Home Depot and Lowe's stores
A Madison man was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for switching out product-identification labels and scamming $51,000 from Home Depot and Lowe's Home Improvement stores.
Aaron Hoster, 51, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock Jr. to 33 months plus three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $57,593.19 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maine. Hoster entered a guilty plea on Sept. 11.
The Department of Homeland Security investigated the case.
According to court records, from June 2021 to April 2023, Hoster removed UPC labels from low-cost items and applied them to higher-priced items which he then purchased.
Hoster defrauded multiple Home Depot and Lowe’s Home Improvement stores in Maine, cheating the retailers out of more than $51,000.
In one instance, Hoster purchased a $439 cordless finish nailer kit, paying just $19.98 by scanning a price code for trimmer line. In another example, he scanned a code for an $11.36 chrome-plated plastic tailpiece despite purchasing a powered drain cleaner valued at $429.
Hoster, who had 29 prior criminal convictions, committed 160 thefts using his “ticket switching” scam. Most of thefts occurred in Maine, with others in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
“The defendant had a full-time job of stealing for two years," Woodcock said at the sentencing. "You are causing the price of all goods to rise because people like you take what they haven't paid for. There were plenty of times you could have stopped but didn’t because it was easy money.”
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