Texas Man to Serve Time in Federal Prison for Home Depot Fraud

The law has caught up to Arlington man Henry Lamon Spruiell who took part in fraudulent actitivy at many Home Depot stores from mid 2013 until 2016. This January, he plead guilty to the charges brought against him and received his sentencing.

Spruiell was discovered using a fake Home Depot tax exemption ID to get refunds on the tax off of receipts for major purchases. Sometimes he used receipts multiple times, and he also used other people’s receipts, which probably means he was working with associates, though no details have been given about anyone else involved. After presenting his fake ID and receipts, he would then receive either store credit or cash for the tax money. Eventually, he stole a head-spinning amount of over $1 million.

To grasp the scope of his crimes, Justice.gov writes, “Spruiell obtained refunds at 18 different Home Depot retail stores. The Home Depot has estimated the total refunds in the scheme to be approximately $1,122,357.71 as of January 2016.”

Spruiell received his sentence early this week in Dallas. Due to the large amount of fraudulent activity, WFAA reports that Spruiell will have to spend two years in federal prison on top of the requirement of paying back the funds.