Queens Man Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding TJX Stores in 30 States of More Than $400K

Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CHESTER CULLER, 48, of Queens, New York, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to nine months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for defrauding TJX stores across the country of more than $400,000.  Judge Shea ordered Culler to serve the first 18 months of his supervised release in home incarceration.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between July 2020 and February 2024, Culler engaged in more than 800 acts of theft and fraudulent transactions at TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX) stores, including T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, and others, in 30 states.  Culler typically stole merchandise from a TJX store, fraudulently returned the stolen merchandise to TJX to receive a TJX gift card, made a purchase with the gift card and a small amount of cash and received a receipt, altered the receipt to imitate an all-cash purchase, and returned the purchased merchandise with the altered receipt to receive a cash refund.  Through this scheme, Culler defrauded TJX of approximately $416,417.88.

On February 7, 2024, Wethersfield Police responded to a complaint call from a TJX Loss Prevention investigator at a Marshalls in Wethersfield and arrested Culler.  At the time of his arrest Culler possessed three identifications in the names Chester Culler, “David Peace,” and “Chester Tyler.”  Culler was initially charged with Connecticut state offenses, and subsequently by a federal criminal complaint issued in the Western District of New York.  The federal case was transferred to the District of Connecticut for further prosecution.

On April 30, 2024, Culler pleaded guilty in New Haven federal court to one count of wire fraud.

Judge Shea ordered Culler to pay full restitution and prohibited him from entering any TJX stores.

Culler, who had been detained from the time of his arrest to the date of his guilty plea when he was released on bond, is required to report to prison on March 27.  He is currently in home incarceration living with a third-party custodian, on electronic monitoring, and is permitted to attend medical appointments, including dialysis multiple times a week.

Culler’s criminal history includes more than 20 convictions for fraud and other offenses.  In 2016, Culler received a four-year jail sentence in Stuart, Florida, for possession of a fictitious driver’s license, which stemmed from an investigation of a group of individuals who defrauded chain retail stores across several states through the use of altered receipts and returns.

This matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the assistance of several local police departments and TJX Loss Prevention investigators.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anastasia E. King and Nancy V. Gifford in the District of Connecticut, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango in the Western District of New York.