A Miami man is facing serious charges after allegedly masterminding a refund fraud scheme that cost TJ Maxx and Marshalls stores more than $288,000, authorities said.
Eduardo Rodriguez, 47, was arrested Tuesday and charged with grand theft over $100,000 and attempted organized scheme to defraud, according to court records. The arrest follows a months-long investigation into what officials describe as a large-scale operation that involved hundreds of fake transactions across Florida.
According to an arrest report, the investigation began in 2023 after a TJX Companies investigator flagged a suspicious pattern: dozens of refunds issued to credit and gift cards that far exceeded the value of the original purchases.
Rodriguez allegedly used 18 credit cards and 11 gift cards to carry out the scheme, ordering items—mostly shoes and boots—online under his own name and address. After receiving the merchandise, he would return it in person, generating a store tag without a detailed description. He then repurchased the item and used the receipt to return a cheaper or different product at another location, ultimately collecting store credit, investigators said.
Authorities say Rodriguez repeatedly used the same receipts across various stores to continue the scam and even enlisted his wife and son to carry out fraudulent returns across Miami-Dade County and beyond.
In January 2024, TJX Companies blocked Rodriguez’s home address from making online purchases, but he allegedly circumvented that by creating new profiles and using alternative addresses. In an effort to track the fraud, loss prevention officers began marking his shipments with invisible ink. A total of 56 packages were tracked.
Investigators later discovered that Rodriguez was reselling the merchandise locally, online, and through his business at the Redland Market Village in Homestead. Since December 2022, he is believed to have made at least 744 sales totaling over $232,000. In the same period, Rodriguez and his family reportedly processed 1,467 returns worth more than $288,000.
From January 2024 to July 2025 alone, Rodriguez allegedly orchestrated or participated in 985 fraudulent transactions, costing TJX Companies more than $128,000.
His arrest came Tuesday as he attempted to return four pairs of Timberland boots worth $278.16 at a TJ Maxx in Cutler Bay. A search of his vehicle turned up several pairs of shoes and numerous receipts. More merchandise linked to the scheme was recovered from his home and business.
Rodriguez was booked into jail and appeared in court Wednesday, where a judge set his bond at $40,000 and ordered him to stay away from all TJ Maxx and Marshalls stores in Miami-Dade County.
In a statement, a spokesperson for TJX said, “We’re aware of the recent arrest and are grateful for the support of the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office and Police Department. As this is an active investigation, we will most respectfully defer any additional comment to law enforcement.”
