Two Etobicoke residents have been charged after numerous Home Depot stores in the Greater Toronto Area and southern Ontario were defrauded of $100,000 worth of merchandise over a three-month period.

On July 11, shortly after 4:30 PM, the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) said they were called to the Home Depot store at 99 Cross Avenue in Oakville after a man attempted to fraudulently purchase a number of expensive items.

The police said the suspect fled before they arrived; however, a rental vehicle they said belonged to him was found at the scene.

Members of the Ontario Provincial Police financial crimes unit continued the investigation and executed a search warrant on the rental vehicle.

Investigators allege that they found property belonging to Home Depot as well as "multiple fraudulent credit cards and fraudulent identities."

They said the suspect was positively identified after they determined he was using Home Depot gift and credit cards along with fraudulent identities to purchase a number of items from Home Depot stores in southern Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area. Police stated that transactions occurring at these stores happened between May and July with estimated losses of about $100,000.

Police said a second suspect was identified as the investigation progressed.

On August 14, Ontario Provincial Police arrested a 30-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman, both from Etobicoke.

Hughens Charleskat was charged with possession of property obtained by crime, possession of a counterfeit mark, fraud over $5,000, identity fraud with intent, and breach of a conditional sentence order. He has been held pending a bail hearing in Milton.

Meanwhile, Melissa Levitsk was charged with fraud over $5,000. She has been released on an undertaking with a court date set for September 17 in Milton.