Georgia woman convicted in Florida T.J Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods fake return scheme

A Decatur woman has been convicted in Florida court of what officials described as a retail fraud scheme that stole hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Santina Green, also known as Santina Hill, was central to a scheme that defrauded more than $50,000 from T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods in Florida alone, prosecutors said.

According to the Florida Attorney General's Office, the group bought rugs valued between $400 and $1,000 from "combo" stores using debit cards, pocketed the receipts, and then immediately returned the product. They then used the same or duplicated receipts and forged "silent price coding" to return inferior rugs at other locations.

Authorities said the returns exploited delays in how the "combo" and standalone stores reconciled them. Investigators with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement identified 84 fraudulent transactions in Florida linked to nine debit cards.

In total, prosecutors believe that the group stole up to $300,000 from the stores.

Green was eventually identified as a suspect when investigators connected IDs, aliases, store surveillance video, the return data, and bank records.

The Decatur resident entered a no-contest plea to racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, and fraud charges this week.

"This conviction holds a fraudster accountable for leading a sophisticated racketeering scheme that stole hundreds of thousands of dollars across multiple states," Attorney General James Uthmeier said. "Thanks to FDLE and our statewide prosecutors, this organized fraud ring has been stopped. We will continue our fight against retail fraud to protect Florida businesses and keep prices down for families."

Green's sentencing hearing is set for Aug. 3. She faces up to 75 years in prison.