A Honduran national has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for his role in a multi-year refund fraud scheme that defrauded Home Depot stores across North and South Carolina of nearly half a million dollars.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina, 34-year-old Darwin Alberto Corea Calderon was sentenced Friday (July 10) to 24 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Federal prosecutors said that from 2022 through 2025, Corea carried out an extensive refund fraud scheme targeting more than a dozen Home Depot stores, including locations in Statesville, Charlotte, Cornelius, Gastonia, Kannapolis, Matthews, Rock Hill, South Carolina, and Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Investigators said the scheme resulted in more than $464,000 in fraudulent refunds issued by Home Depot. Prosecutors also said Corea stole merchandise by using a “skip-scanning” method at self-checkout registers, intentionally failing to scan items before leaving the store.

During Friday’s sentencing hearing, prosecutors presented evidence of Corea’s 2024 felony larceny conviction in Cabarrus County, where he was convicted of stealing power tools, a vacuum, and a microwave from a Lowe’s Home Improvement store.

U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson said retail fraud ultimately drives up prices for consumers, calling the crimes “a calculated scheme” motivated by greed.

Corea will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service until he is transferred to a federal prison. After completing his sentence, he will be turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials for immigration proceedings.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from Home Depot and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William Bozin.

[Photo: Corea at the Home Depot in Cornelius, North Carolina on June 14, 2023, courtesy of U.S. Attorney’s Office]