Baldwin man sentenced for running multi-county Home Depot theft ring
Mineola, NY — A Baldwin man was sentenced Monday to up to four years in prison after pleading guilty to directing a retail theft operation that targeted dozens of The Home Depot locations across Long Island and New York City over a two-year period.
Manooj Heeralall, 54, admitted to orchestrating a scheme in which he employed individuals to steal construction and electrical supplies from stores in Nassau County, Suffolk County, Queens, and Brooklyn. Heeralall later collected the stolen goods and shipped them overseas to Guyana for resale.
The thefts occurred between October 2021 and December 2023. Heeralall pleaded guilty in August to grand larceny in the third degree, a class D felony. He was sentenced to a term of 1-1/3 to 4 years in prison by Judge Howard Sturim in Nassau County Court.
Investigators said Heeralall operated a system in which crews were directed to steal high-demand items including circuit breakers, light switches, and circular saw blades from various Home Depot stores. He then met with them to collect the merchandise and paid them for the thefts.
On December 7, 2023, Nassau County investigators executed search warrants at Heeralall’s home, where they found nearly 1,000 circuit breakers worth more than $15,000, along with hundreds of additional stolen items in his garage. The total value of the recovered merchandise was approximately $37,151.
In addition to the prison sentence, Heeralall forfeited a 2004 Nissan vehicle, $2,640 in cash, and all items seized during the raid.
The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office credited The Home Depot’s Organized Retail Crime Investigations team and local law enforcement for helping bring down the operation.
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Key Points
- Manooj Heeralall was sentenced to up to 4 years for leading a retail theft ring targeting Home Depot stores
- Heeralall paid individuals to steal items, then shipped the stolen goods to Guyana for resale
- Police recovered over $37,000 in stolen merchandise during a raid of his home and garage