Home Depot ORC price switchers-refunders gets prison for $300,000 fraud after hitting over 100 stores in 13 states  A Michigan man who switched price stickers on Home Depot products and then returned the items for refunds was sentenced Thursday to 2 1/2 years in prison in a multi-state scheme that cost the big retailer more than $300,000. Larry D. Fields, Chris M. Smith and others executed the scam over two years at more than 100 Home Depot stores in 13 states, according to federal agents. Fields appeared Thursday in federal court in Flint, a few months after Smith was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for his role. The fraud was simple but lucrative: They took bar code stickers off inexpensive items and placed them on goods that cost more before paying at a self-checkout register. The items later were returned to Home Depot with the original higher price code. Refunds were put on Home Depot store cards that were peddled to others. Some items that weren't immediately returned were put in storage in the Detroit area or resold for a profit. After his arrest last May, Smith met with Home Depot officials and "offered suggestions as to how to improve store security measures in order to prevent similar schemes from occurring in the future," Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Vance said in a court filing. (Source publicopiniononline.com)

Across the pond- Eastern European ORC gang literally raids Tesco store stealing thousands in Xbox games in broad daylight  The Tele can reveal that criminals carried out a high-value Valentine’s Day raid on the town’s Tesco Extra store. Officers involved in the investigation told the Telegraph today that a ‘large amount’ of expensive Xbox titles were stolen on 14 February. It’s understood that the worth of the stolen goods amounts to thousands of pounds, leading to security measures being stepped up. Other stores in the area have also been alerted to the seemingly-organised raid, with staff placed on high alert for any suspicious activity. News of the shoplifting spree and the description of the suspects comes after reports of a doorstep ‘scam’ being carried out by an Eastern European woman in Greenock. (Source greenocketelegraph.co.uk)