Miami Beach, Miami and Orlando men defrauded Home Depots of $100,000, investigators say

David J. Neal
·2 min read
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Self-checkout switcheroos involving roof coating and floor patch allowed three men from Miami, Miami Beach and Orlando to defraud Home Depot stores in 11 Florida counties of $101,773, according to state investigators.

Online court records say Miami Beach’s Vicky Popat, 41, will finish posting $100,000 bond Monday and be released after being charged with grand theft over $100,000 and organized scheme to defraud over $20,000.

Miami’s Christopher Baglin, who turned 40 on Monday, and Orlando’s Christopher Abad, 30, each got hit with grand theft over $20,000 and the organized scheme charge. Both already were involuntary guests at the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office Jail on unrelated grand theft charges, Baglin since February and Abad since December.

The probable cause affidavit says the three ran their scheme from Jan. 6, 2021, through July 13, 2023, at Home Depot stores in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, Indian River, Lee, Collier, Brevard, Charlotte, Sarasota and Seminole counties. Home Depot discovered the scheme when they found their South Florida Region stores “experienced significant thefts” of Henry 887 Tropi-Cool 4.75-gallon 100% Silicone White Roof Coating.

Company analysts figured that a buyer or buyers of multiple gallons were barcode switching by scanning Henry Floor Patch, which cost $9.98, and walking out with the White Roof Coating, which cost $248 in 2021 and went up as high as $445 “due to theft issues and rising costs,” the arrest paperwork said.

In the Miami metro area, the probable cause affidavit says they did this at Home Depots in Miami, North Miami, West Miami-Dade, Hialeah, Hollywood, Coconut Creek, North Lauderdale and Boca Raton.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement handled the investigation.

“This group switched barcodes at self-checkout stations on expensive roof sealers for items that cost 95-97% less, and hit multiple Home Depot stores a day — ultimately stealing more than $100,000,” Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said. “Now, this group faces our statewide prosecutors and time in prison, where I can promise there is no self-checkout line.”