Queens man scammed $35G out of Home Depot, police say

He knew how to find a bargain, Nassau County police said. Or create one.

A Queens man completed more than 100 transactions at the self-service checkout counters at Home Depot stores throughout the metropolitan area using a SKU tag he brought with him - charging himself just $11.97 for each and every purchase, police said Friday.

Then, police said, Jorge Zelidon, 42, of 124th Street in Richmond Hill, would return the high-priced items he'd gotten in exchange for its full value in the form of a store credit.

Police said he stole more than $35,000 before he was arrested Thursday at 3 p.m. at the Home Depot store in Freeport.

The transactions were all between March 12 and Thursday, police said.

Zelidon was charged with third-degree grand larceny, criminal possession of a forged instrument and first-degree falsifying of business records.

He was scheduled to be arraigned Friday in First District Court in Hempstead.