Water Heaters

Don't know what this is about except that it raises prices for the rest of us. If the Big Box loses 1.7 million we are paying for that. I know the local HD go to I was talking with an employee and this was bout 10 years ago he told me that they lose 8k/month from stealing.

Now they walk out the door with boxes of wire, so the wire has to be locked up, and the employee has to follow you to the register to make a purchase.

Now I am sure the stealing is much more that the 8K it was 10 years ago.

I was in a Dollar General and saw where they put posts on the shopping carts so you can't take them out to your car. Stupidly I asked the cashier "Is that to prevent people stealing shopping carts" no. He said gangs of people come in and each one grabs a cart fills it up and walks out the door with it and the employees are told not to stop them.

Inflation stealing is what I call it. just raises the prices for all of us. The stores are not going to absorb the loss.

Story:

"Four men have been federally indicted in St. Louis in connection with an alleged fraud scheme involving the return of used water heaters that prosecutors say generated more than $1.7 million in gift certificates.

Aron Suarez-Ruiz, 22, Jose Antonio Alvarez-Raya, 38, Daniel Barreras-Magallanes, 41, and Francisco Aguilar-Ortiz, 27, were each charged Wednesday in U.S. District Court with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Alvarez-Raya, Barreras-Magallanes, and Aguilar-Ortiz appeared in court on Thursday, where they entered pleas of not guilty.

According to the indictment, the alleged scheme operated from at least March 2026 through May 18, 2026. Prosecutors allege the men acquired used water heaters in California and transported them in rented trucks to home improvement stores across the country. The indictment claims the water heaters were outfitted with counterfeit labels bearing false serial numbers before being returned to stores in exchange for gift certificate refunds.

Authorities allege the defendants then used the gift certificates to purchase power tools. The indictment states the alleged scheme resulted in losses exceeding $1.7 million.

One example outlined in the indictment alleges that on May 14, 2026, Alvarez-Raya and Suarez-Ruiz returned water heaters bearing counterfeit serial numbers at stores in Wentzville, Cottleville, St. Charles, St. Louis County, and Arnold. Prosecutors further allege that on May 18, 2026, Barreras-Magallanes and Aguilar-Ortiz returned two used water heaters to a store in Wentzville.

Court filings seeking the detention of Alvarez-Raya allege the men made multiple stops at additional stores while traveling to Missouri and that Alvarez-Raya recruited Suarez-Ruiz to participate in the operation. Another detention motion alleges Aguilar-Ortiz recruited Barreras-Magallanes from Mexico.

The motions further state that Alvarez-Raya, Aguilar-Ortiz, and Barreras-Magallanes are in the United States illegally. According to the filings, Alvarez-Raya had been living in Washington state, Aguilar-Ortiz was residing in the Los Angeles area, and Suarez-Ruiz was living in Louisville, Kentucky.

Federal authorities emphasized that charges contained in an indictment are allegations only and are not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Arnold Police Department, and the Wentzville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen C"