Man accused of renting $800,000 worth of equipment from Home Depot and failing to return it

On October 30, 2024By Karl

MACON, Ga. (TMX/Gray News) – A Georgia man is facing charges in connection with an $800,000 scheme that fraudulently rented equipment and tools from Home Depot and then failed to return them, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced. It was announced on Tuesday.

Yasin Saleem, 45, of Macon, was indicted by a federal grand jury in June on conspiracy and wire fraud charges. He was sent to the courthouse on Friday.

“Saleem and a team of co-conspirators allegedly used fictitious driver’s licenses and fake debit cards to exploit security vulnerabilities in Home Depot’s equipment and tool rental service, stealing more than $800,000,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a statement.

The indictment alleges that Saleem and his co-conspirators used fake driver’s licenses to conceal their identities while renting equipment and tools from Home Depot.

Debit cards with names matching the fake licenses were used, even though the accounts contained the minimum funds required to complete the rental transaction.

Saleem and his accomplices later allegedly failed to return the items and disabled their GPS devices to avoid detection. The debit cards used for the rental did not have sufficient funds to pay for the stolen items.

In total, Saleem and his collaborators allegedly stole more than $800,000 in equipment.

The FBI continues to investigate the incident.