Overview
- Mauricio Jimenez, 48, was arrested at the West Flagler Street store he managed, then released after a judge set $15,000 bond and ordered him to stay away from The Home Depot.
- Prosecutors charged him with organized fraud of $50,000 or more and first-degree grand theft exceeding $100,000.
- Investigators say he used his authority to approve price adjustments to stack steep, unauthorized discounts on bulk orders for repeat customers and affiliated business accounts.
- An internal audit program first flagged a high-value order with unusually deep markdowns at his previous Hialeah Gardens store, leading to a review that tied more than 4,500 orders to about $24 million in discounts and roughly $4.3 million in losses.
- Prosecutors argue the inflated sales increased his bonuses, the defense says there is no evidence of kickbacks, and the case proceeds with a pre-file review and ongoing investigation.