Prosecutors say a Brentwood couple quietly turned Home Depot’s will-call counter into their own private inventory pipeline, allegedly pulling off a scheme that moved more than $500,000 in merchandise out of stores and onto the resale market.
According to court documents, investigators believe the pair used store pickup receipts to walk out with high-end faucets, lighting, electrical gear and other home improvement goods, then flipped those products through online resale channels. The pattern reportedly came into focus only after a sharp-eyed Home Depot employee raised concerns, prompting managers to dig into similar pickup orders at multiple locations.
Police have identified the suspects as Farhan Rasoul Zadeh Seisan and Sona Sharifinia, who are now facing multiple organized retail theft counts, according to KMOV. Court records say Seisan faces three organized retail theft charges tied to losses over $10,000, plus one additional count in the $750 to $10,000 range. Prosecutors say Sharifinia faces the same set of charges. Investigators allege the two resold stolen goods on Amazon and eBay as part of the operation.
How Investigators Say the Pickup System Was Worked
Loss-prevention specialists say will-call and store pickup systems can be a soft spot. Scam tactics can include grabbing or copying pickup receipts while staff are retrieving items, then using those receipts to walk out with duplicate merchandise, or coming back later to collect or cancel orders and secure refunds. Run that play across several stores and the pattern can be tough to catch in real time.
Organized retail theft crews often pair those in-store moves with online marketplaces or local fencing operations to turn stolen goods into cash quickly. Reporting and analysis from retailers, highlighted by Retail Dive, indicate that chains across the country are now actively tracking these kinds of schemes as part of broader crackdowns on organized retail crime.
Search Warrant, Stash of Goods and Federal Interest
Brentwood police say a search warrant at the couple’s home revealed what looked like a mini warehouse. Court filings state that officers recovered roughly $84,000 in Home Depot merchandise from the basement and garage, along with about $13,000 in similar products linked to Lowe’s.
KMOV reports that Lowe’s has separately tallied at least $100,000 in thefts that appear tied to the same pattern and has opened its own internal review. The probable-cause statement also notes that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has launched an inquiry into whether the operation involved wire fraud or interstate transport of stolen property.
What Comes Next for the Case and Big-Box Retailers
Both suspects are now formally charged, and the case remains active as local and federal investigators continue digging. Prosecutors are leaving the door open to additional counts as more potential losses are identified by retailers.
The arrests land at a moment when organized retail crime and pickup-order scams are getting far more attention from both the public and lawmakers. The National Retail Federation has reported that chains are seeing increases in everything from straightforward shoplifting to phone cons and ecommerce fraud, all of which make it harder to rein in losses. For now, public court filings and the ongoing internal investigations by the retailers involved are likely to be the main sources of new details as the case moves through the system.
