A Georgia woman is facing up to 75 years in prison in connection with her alleged role in an organized fraud scheme that stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from a retailer, Florida prosecutors and court documents outline.
Santina Hill, 51, of Decatur, Georgia, also known as Santina Green, pleaded guilty on June 24 to racketeering, conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to defraud TJX Companies Inc. stores, including TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods in Florida, of more than $50,000 and through repeated fraudulent refunds totaling up to $300,000, according to court documents obtained by the United States. Filed no contest plea to fraud charges related to the scheme. Today.
According to court documents, the “complex scheme” took place from November 2020 to May 2021 in multiple states, particularly Florida and Georgia. More than $50,000 is believed to have been stolen through 84 transactions in Florida alone.
Court documents say Hill was identified through security camera footage and the government-issued ID he presented when he returned. He was arrested in April 2021 for his alleged involvement in the scheme.
“This conviction holds a fraudster accountable for leading a sophisticated racketeering scheme that stole hundreds of thousands of dollars across multiple states,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeyer said in a statement. “Thanks to the FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) and our statewide prosecutors, this organized fraud ring has been stopped.”
According to court documents, Hill was associated with co-subjects Albert Jr. Boyce Jr., Diana Rochelle Harris and David Lee Griffin, who have pleaded guilty to two felony charges of racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering.
Florida general practice attorney Patrick McClain, who represents Hill, told USA TODAY on July 9 that his legal team had no comment about the allegations.
What happened?
According to court documents, security camera footage shows Hill and three others presenting to TJX stores to return items not purchased with altered or duplicate receipts.
In several cases, Hill was observed purchasing high-priced retail rugs (typically between $400 to $1,000) at TJX combination stores, which included merchandise from the chain’s two brands, often HomeGoods and Marshalls, according to court documents. After purchasing the rug with a debit or credit card, Hill pocketed the receipt and immediately returned the item, claiming he had changed his mind about the purchase.
According to court documents, returns were often processed by the same cashier who checked out Hill. However, “(the cashier) often inadvertently fails to ask for the original sales receipt back,” court documents say. Once the rug was returned, Hill left the store with the original purchase receipt. At this point, HomeGoods and Marshalls have not lost any money, court documents release.
Next, Hill attempted to return a rug not purchased from the TJX store, typically believed to be cheaper rugs coming from retailers such as Lowe’s, Home Depot or Walmart, along with the original purchase receipt, according to court documents. Returns were often completed at standalone TJX stores rather than at combination stores, where multiple of the company’s brands were under one roof.
In addition to presenting fraudulent receipts, Hill or his co-subjects copied the “silent pricing code” on the back of the cheap rugs.
According to court documents, at TJX stores, employees are required to write a “silent pricing code” on all larger, more expensive pieces of furniture. This code includes the item’s department, style number, and price. Employees are trained to check all large returns for this code to ensure the item matches the receipt.
Court documents state that by copying the more expensive rug’s “silent pricing code” onto the back of the cheaper rug, employees were given the impression that the rug was sold from one of their stores. Hill then successfully returned the rug and the purchase amount on her receipt was returned to her bank card, the documents continue.
Court documents state that through an internal investigation, TJX discovered the point-of-sale (POS) discrepancy. According to court documents, when an item was purchased from a combination store and returned to a standalone store (or vice versa), the company’s POS system did not immediately recognize that the original sale had already been refunded.
Hill’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 3.