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Press Release

Detroit Man Indicted For Stealing $16,000 Worth Of Merchandise From Stores Throughout Ohio

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Ohio

A Detroit man was indicted on 46 counts in federal court related to a scheme in which he stole at least $16,000 worth of merchanside from Lowe's and Home Depot stores in the Cleveland and Toledo areas and then returned the stolen items for store credit, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Larry Darnell Frazier, 56, was indicted on 45 counts of wire fraud and one count of transporting fraudulently obtained property in interstate commerce. 

Frazier placed small, expensive items, including rough plumbing and electrical items, inside large outdoor lighting boxes. He purchased the lighting boxes with the smaller items concealed inside. He went to other stores and returned the lighting, for which he had a receipt, for a refund and the stolen items, for which he did not have a receipt, for store credit, according to the indictment.

Frazier did this at stores in Toledo, Perryburg, Fairlawn, Strongsville, Streetsboro, Elyria, Rocky River, Avon, Lorain, Sandusky, Sylvania, and elsewhere, according to the indictment. He returned stolen merchandise at least 45 times and got more than $16,000 in store credit for the merchandise, according to the information.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after reviewing factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, and the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.  In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

The investigating agency in this case is the United States Secret Service, Toledo, Ohio.  The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Noah P. Hood.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Updated March 12, 2015