Southern Poverty Law Center charged with fraud and money laundering
The Department of Justice announced that it has charged the Southern Poverty Law Center with fraud and funding extremist groups.
A Florida Home Depot manager is accused of running an “intentional” and “systematic” fraud scheme at the stores where he worked, costing the company more than $4 million through fraudulent discounts, according to arrest documents.
Mauricio Jimenez, 48, faces felony charges of organized fraud and first-degree grand theft for allegedly carrying out the scheme at various Florida stores from December 2023 to April 2026, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by USA TODAY. He was arrested by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office on April 21st.
The investigation began after the Home Depot Assurance & Advisory Management Program visited Jimenez’s previous store in Hialeah Gardens, Florida, and discovered “high quality, high value, high discount orders,” according to an arrest affidavit. The order was eventually alerted to by store executives, who later “observed multiple transactions” with Mr. Jimenez.
Investigators said Jimenez was authorized as a store manager to approve price adjustments, including price reductions, and had access to “internal sales and inventory systems” through login credentials and password-protected privileges.
“Initially, it was observed that he offered several extremely excessive discounts to regular customers,” the arrest affidavit states, adding that store leaders were alerted to “fraud in large bulk transactions” attributed to his store.
According to the arrest report, Jimenez “engaged in a deliberate, systematic, and ongoing scheme to defraud Home Depot.” Investigators said the price cuts resulted in “approximately $4.3 million in negative sales profits in these accounts.”
Lawyer: “There is no fact that I received any kickbacks.”
Jimenez appeared in bail court on April 22, according to CBS News Miami. Prosecutors argued that the discount provided by Ramos resulted in a larger bonus.
Jimenez’s attorney, Melissa Ramos, said in court that her client’s actions did not amount to theft.
“There’s nothing to suggest he was receiving kickbacks, there’s nothing to suggest he was profiting from it,” Ramos told the judge, CBS News Miami reported.
Judge Mindy Glazer later found probable cause, set Jimenez’s bail at $15,000 and ordered him to stay away from Home Depot. Local media also reported that Jimenez has since been released from prison and released from custody.
USA TODAY has reached out to Home Depot for comment on Jimenez’s employment status.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Contact us at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow us at X @fern_cerv_.
