Alberto Gracequis-Nunez, a 28-year-old from the Bronx, was arrested March 30 on a first-degree larceny charge in connection with the fraudulent Oct. 29 purchases from Mike’s Factory Direct, according to Westport police and court records.
The warrant shows Gracequis-Nunez arranged to pick up two of the chairs from the retailer’s location in Westport and another two chairs from the company’s location in Elmsford, New York, with a rented U-haul truck.
The store’s manager contacted police on Nov. 7 after their software company, House Call Pro, reported the transactions were completed with a fraudulent credit card and another attempted transaction was flagged as fraudulent, the warrant states.
The manager later told investigators that “HCP had found that multiple credit cards were used across all the invoices and corresponding payments, and there were many credit card failed transactions associated with the invoice,” police wrote.
The company also shared a recorded phone call Gracequis-Nunez made with store employees in which he claimed the message chairs were for the grand opening of the second location of a New York City wellness center, according to the warrant.
The owner of the wellness center told police that Gracequis-Nunez was a former employee, but that she was no longer in contact with the man and was not aware that he planned to open a business, officials wrote.
The warrant notes that Gracequis-Nunez used the fake name “James Johnson” during the transaction. Police were able to identify him after obtaining the license plate of the U-Haul truck from surveillance footage and contacting the rental company.
Gracequis-Nunez initially told police he would meet them at department headquarters for an interview, but later invoked his right to remain silent through an attorney, police wrote in the warrant.
Police have said the man turned himself in to the authorities after an arrest warrant was issued for first-degree larceny. He was later released after posting a $50,000 bond.