Two men arrested by Arnold Police last month and two other men have been charged in federal court for their alleged role in a scheme to return used water heaters for gift cards at Home Depot stores throughout the St. Louis area, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office reported.
The men allegedly received more than $1.7 million in gift cards after returning water heaters with altered serial numbers and manufacture dates. They then used the gift cards to purchase power tools, according to court documents.
Jose Antonio Alvarez-Raya, Aron Suarez-Ruiz, Daniel Barreras-Magallanes and Francisco Aguilar-Oritz on May 27 were each charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, court records show…