A Miami-Dade retail manager was arrested last week following an investigation into a large-scale fraud scheme that authorities say cost a major home improvement chain millions of dollars.
Mauricio Jimenez, 48, of Hialeah, was taken into custody on Tuesday at a Home Depot store on West Flagler Street, where he worked as a manager. He is facing charges of organized fraud of $50,000 or more and first-degree grand theft. As of Wednesday morning, he was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $15,000 bond.
According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, Jimenez carried out at least 4,500 unauthorized transactions over a 28-month period, totaling approximately $55 million in merchandise. Investigators allege he applied excessive markdowns to items—often sold in bulk quantities—reducing prices well beyond permitted limits.
Authorities said the scheme was first flagged in December after Home Depot’s internal Assurance & Advisory Management Program detected suspicious activity. Further investigation revealed repeated transactions involving “highly excessive markdowns” to a consistent group of customers, many believed to be resellers.
Jimenez, who previously worked at a Home Depot location on West Okeechobee Road in Hialeah Gardens, allegedly shifted the pattern of activity between stores. Investigators noted that the high markdown activity stopped at his former location after his departure and increased significantly at his new store once he arrived.
Authorities also allege that Jimenez attempted to conceal the scheme by structuring transactions to avoid internal detection and by using or creating additional business entities, shell companies, or aliases to place and receive orders.
Despite being warned by company leadership—including a regional vice president and district manager—not to conduct certain transactions or sell to specific affiliated businesses, investigators said Jimenez continued the activity.
Of the $55 million in gross sales tied to the scheme, approximately $24 million was attributed to markdowns, leaving net sales at about $30 million. Officials said the transactions resulted in a negative sales margin of roughly $4.3 million, meaning the company ultimately lost money on the sales.
“The defendant engaged in a deliberate, ongoing, and sophisticated scheme to defraud the Home Depot over a period of approximately two and one-half years, resulting in substantial financial loss,” the arrest report stated.
Because of his role, Jimenez had authority to approve price adjustments and access to internal sales and inventory systems. Investigators said the fraudulent sales also helped him exceed performance targets, resulting in increased bonuses.
He appeared before a judge last week, who set bond at $15,000 and ordered him to stay away from the store as the case proceeds.
