Man, woman charged in $100K Home Depot fraud in the GTA, southern Ontario

The Home Depot at 1925 Division Road in Windsor, Ont., on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022. (Michelle Maluske/CTV News Windsor)

Two Etobicoke residents have been charged after several Home Depot stores in the GTA and southern Ontario were defrauded of $100,000 in merchandise over a three-month period.

On July 11, shortly after 4:30 pm, Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) say they were called to a Home Depot at 99 Cross Ave. in Oakville after a male allegedly attempted to fraudulently purchase a number of expensive items.

Police said that the suspect fled prior to their arrival, however a rental vehicle they said belonged to him was found at the scene.

Members of the HRPS’s Financial Crimes Unit continued investigating and executed a search warrant on the rental vehicle.

Investigators allege that they located property belonging to Home Depot as well as “multiple fraudulent credit cards and fraudulent identifications.”

They said that the suspect was positively identified after they determined that he had been utilizing Home Depot gift and credit cards as well as fraudulent IDs to purchase a number of items from Home Depots across southern Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area. Police said transactions at these stores took occurred between May and July with losses estimated at $100,000.

Police said that a second suspect was identified as the investigation unfolded.

On Aug. 14, HRPS arrested a 30-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman, both of Etobicoke.

Huguens Charlescat has been charged with possession of property obtained by crime, possession of counterfeit mark, fraud over $5,000, personation with intent, and breach of conditional sentence order. He has been held in custody pending a bail hearing in Milton.

Melissa Levesque, meanwhile, has been charged with fraud over $5,000. She was released on an undertaking with a court date set for Sept. 17 in Milton.