Arizona Man’s Fake Returns Cost Walmart $1.3M

The police have arrested a 23-year-old man from Arizona who allegedly traveled across the country to make money by defrauding Walmart stores. The conman allegedly made $1.3 million in false returns at more than 1,000 Walmart stores.

The Yuma Police Department took Thomas Frudaker into custody on Wednesday. The man was caught after one Walmart worker noticed that there was something wrong with his return.

The police said the man tried to return a computer, but a Walmart employee found that he had removed some parts from the machine before returning it. The police suspect that the man was behind another return at another Walmart store that day.

Law enforcement officers have found that Frudaker was behind countless of fake returns at hundreds of Walmart locations over the last 18 months. The fraud cost the retail giant $1.3 million.

Frudaker is being held at a local detention center on fraudulent schemes charges. He does not seem to have an attorney.

Another Shopper Busted over Fake Returns this Month

Earlier this month, another Walmart shopper landed in prison over fake returns. The 19-year-old Wilhimena Cahlurey Manninen stole several items from Walmart and returned them, according to police records.

The police caught Manninen after she was filmed by CCTV cameras while walking outside the store without paying for a box of Okay Body Butter. Less than half an hour later she re-entered the store to return the product. She was given a gift card.

A few weeks earlier, CCTV cameras showed the woman stealing a bottle of Flexseal and leaving the store. Within 10 minutes, she was back. She couldn’t return the product, though, because she had reached a monthly limit for returned products. A manager quickly realized that the woman had stolen the item to return it for cash and called the police.
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