Gift card scammer targets Home Depot, Lowe’s

A man already convicted of forgery and grand larceny in New York State is also facing a federal indictment that accuses him of gift card scams at Home Depot and Lowe’s totaling $78,800, according to an article in the Buffalo News.

Randall McGovern, 41, was convicted in 2010 for possession of stolen property and given a 3.5-year to seven-year sentence. In September 2010, he plead guilty to forgery and grand larceny for buying a 46-in. television set with a bounced check for $2,157; ordering an $8,400 industrial range and taking it home after pretending to be an employee of a local construction company; and selling some stolen construction equipment to a Niagara Falls company for $10,000.  

McGovern now faces federal charges that accuse him and an unnamed accomplice of fraudulently obtaining and redeeming $42,000 worth of Home Depot gift cards in 2005 and 2006, as well as attempting to pull a $36,800 gift card scam on a local Lowe's store.