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Maine man sentenced for defrauding Home Depot and Lowes


A Madison man will spend more than two years behind bars for a scheme to rip off Home Depot and Lowe’s.

51-year-old Aaron David Hoster was accused of swapping out UPC labels, peeling them off of low-cost items and putting them on higher-priced items before using the self-checkout. Hoster pleaded guilty to wire fraud and attempted wire fraud in September.

Hoster defrauded Home Depot and Lowe’s stores, cheating them out of more than $51,000 between June of 2021 and April of 2023. The majority of those thefts were in Maine. Some took place at stores in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

On Wednesday, a U.S. District Judge sentenced him to 33 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

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