Hernando employees stole $15,000 from Lowe’s using fraudulent returns, deputies say

SPRING HILL — A pair of employees at Lowe’s Home Improvement are accused of bilking the store out of thousands using fraudulent returns, according to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies on Friday said Timothy Rivett, 37, and Drew Hall, 31, were arrested after a loss-prevention officer at the chain store alerted them to a fraud investigation at the store at 4780 Commercial Way. The investigation was launched after a customer service manager became suspicious.

Rivett, who worked as a cashier in customer service, was conducting returns for cash with no customers present, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Then he passed the money to Hall, who worked in curbside pickup, deputies said.

The pair conducted 183 fraudulent returns and stole a total of $15,710 from the store from mid-April through the end of November, deputies said.

Both men confessed to participating in the scheme after their arrests, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Both face charges of organized fraud, grand theft, unlawful use of a two-way communication device and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Hall also faces a charge of possession of Hydromorphone and Rivett faces a charge of violating his probation on a previous charge of trafficking in stolen property.

Both were booked into the Hernando County jail. Hall was held in lieu of $8,500 bail. Rivett was being held without bail because of the probation violation charge.