Tennessee Man Sentenced in HD Flooring Scheme

Chattanooga, TN, Oct. 20, 2010--Ronald Matheny of Chattanooga was sentenced to federal prison today for his role in a scheme to defraud Home Depot while he was overseeing the store's flooring department.

Matheny was sentenced to serve two years and three months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Matheny worked for Home Depot from May 1987 to July 2007 and, while overseeing the store’s flooring department, he arranged with other conspirators for Home Depot to buy items at less-than-advantageous prices and to have the co-conspirators supply services to the company at comparatively high prices, according to authorities. In return, Matheny was paid more than $1 million.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the FBI. Matheny pleaded guilty to the charges in May 2009, he said.