NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Queens man was sentenced Friday to defrauding TJX stores across the country of over $400,000 over a four year period, prosecutors announced.
Chester Culler, 48, was sentenced in Hartford, Connecticut to nine months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. Culler has to serve the first 18 months of his supervised release in home incarceration, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut Marc Silverman said.
According to court documents, between July 2020 and February 2024, Culler engaged in more than 800 acts of theft and fraudulent transactions at TJX stores including T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, and others, in 30 states.
Culler typically stole merchandise from a TJX store, fraudulently returned the stolen merchandise to TJX to receive a TJX gift card. He then made a purchase with the gift card and a small amount of cash and received a receipt which he altered to imitate an all-cash purchase, and returned the purchased merchandise with the altered receipt to receive a cash refund, police said.
Through this scheme, Culler defrauded TJX out of approximately $416,417.88, authorities said.
On Feb. 7, 2024, police responded to a complaint call from a TJX Loss Prevention investigator at a Marshalls store in Wethersfield and arrested Culler.
At the time of his arrest, Culler possessed three identifications in the names Chester Culler, David Peace, and Chester Tyler.
Culler was initially charged with Connecticut state offenses, and subsequently by a federal criminal complaint issued in the Western District of New York. The federal case was transferred to the District of Connecticut for further prosecution.
On April 30, 2024, Culler pleaded guilty in New Haven federal court to one count of wire fraud. He was ordered to pay full restitution and prohibited from entering any TJX stores.
Culler, who had been detained from the time of his arrest to the date of his guilty plea was released on bond and is required to report to prison on March 27.
He is currently in home incarceration living with a third-party custodian, on electronic monitoring, and is permitted to attend medical appointments, including dialysis multiple times a week, officials said.
Culler has a criminal history that includes over 20 convictions for fraud and other offenses.
In 2016, Culler received a four-year jail sentence in Stuart, Florida, for possession of a fictitious driver’s license, stemming from an investigation of a group who defrauded chain retail stores across several states through the use of altered receipts and returns.