Four men were arrested in a suspected organized scheme to defraud that resulted in losses of nearly $80,000 to a warehouse business in Medley.
Guillermo Gonzalez, Rolando Diaz, Reynel Castillo and Roylis Rodriguez were arrested in connection with organized fraud and dealing in stolen property, according to Medley Police.
Surveillance video showed a white pickup truck and flatbed trailer driving into a warehouse on Northwest 80th Street and forklifts moving bundles of plywood worth over $77,000.
Police said the business owner connected the dots after running an inventory and checking surveillance cameras.
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"He sees that Gonzalez and Diaz are taking the plywood without authorization, said Degley Chavarria of Medley Police.
Gonzalez and Diaz were employees at Countywide of Miami.
"They were coming in before their scheduled times to work, they had access to the warehouse, they would go and pre-load pallets of premium grade plywood into the loading dock," Chavarria said.
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Investigators said Castillo would show up in a white pickup truck to haul the plywood away, and none of the transactions were logged or on the clock. Rodriguez came into the picture as a registered contractor who would buy the plywood at a discount.
While each load of plywood would sell for about $2,000, detectives said Castillo bought the stolen plywood from Gonzalez for about $700.
Detectives said the investigation is ongoing and the amount in losses could double.
