Fraudulent purchases at Sacramento County lumber stores lead to Bay Area man’s arrest
A Bay Area man was arrested this week, accused of making thousands of dollars worth of fraudulent purchases from multiple locations of a Sacramento-area lumber business, sheriff’s officials said.
The investigation began last July when the Berry Lumber location on Auburn Boulevard in Old Foothill Farms reported “multiple fraudulent lumber purchases” totaling about $8,000, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Property crime investigators with the Sheriff’s Office determined that Berry Lumber and its parent company, Berco Redwood, had also sustained losses at other locations, according to the news release. The company has three stores in Sacramento County, one in Roseville and one in El Dorado Hills, according to its website.
Investigators, aided by video surveillance from the Old Foothill Farms store, identified James Eugene Smith as one of the suspects in the original fraud case, sheriff’s officials wrote.
Detectives on Wednesday executed an arrest warrant for Smith at his home in Discovery Bay. Smith was arrested and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on charges of grand theft and unlawful use of personal identifying information, then released from jail the same day after he posted bond, sheriff’s officials said.
The Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate reports of “similar instances at local businesses” within Sacramento County that authorities believe Smith may have defrauded, according to the news release.
Detectives asked anyone with any information regarding previously unreported fraud incidents to contact the Sheriff’s Office.
