Four men have been federally indicted in St. Louis in connection with an alleged fraud scheme involving the return of used water heaters that prosecutors say generated more than $1.7 million in gift certificates.
Aron Suarez-Ruiz, 22, Jose Antonio Alvarez-Raya, 38, Daniel Barreras-Magallanes, 41, and Francisco Aguilar-Ortiz, 27, were each charged Wednesday in U.S. District Court with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Alvarez-Raya, Barreras-Magallanes, and Aguilar-Ortiz appeared in court on Thursday, where they entered pleas of not guilty.
According to the indictment, the alleged scheme operated from at least March 2026 through May 18, 2026. Prosecutors allege the men acquired used water heaters in California and transported them in rented trucks to home improvement stores across the country. The indictment claims the water heaters were outfitted with counterfeit labels bearing false serial numbers before being returned to stores in exchange for gift certificate refunds…