Attorney General James Uthmeier Announces Conviction of Georgia Woman on Racketeering Charges in Retail Fraud Scheme

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that Santina Green a/k/a Santina Hill, of Decatur, Georgia, entered an open plea of no contest to racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, and fraud charges in connection with her central role in an organized scheme that defrauded TJX Companies Inc. stores-including TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods-of more than $50,000 in Florida and up to $300,000 overall through repeated fraudulent refunds. Sophisticated.

"This conviction holds a fraudster accountable for leading a sophisticated racketeering scheme that stole hundreds of thousands of dollars across multiple states," said Attorney General James Uthmeier. "Thanks to FDLE and our statewide prosecutors, this organized fraud ring has been stopped. We will continue our fight against retail fraud to protect Florida businesses and keep prices down for families."

The plea to the bench came during Green's trial as Statewide Prosecutors brought in witnesses from England, Massachusetts, Virginia, Pasco County, Sarasota County, and Miami Dade County.

FDLE's investigation focused on Florida receipted returns of high-value area rugs ($400-$1,000) from November 2020 through May 2021. The group's method involved purchasing expensive rugs at TJX "combo" stores with debit cards, pocketing the receipt after an immediate "change-of-mind" return, then using the same receipt (or duplicate) at other TJX locations to return inferior, non-TJX rugs purchased cheaply elsewhere and marked with forged "silent price coding" to mimic genuine products.

The scheme exploited delays in reconciliation between combo and standalone store point-of-sale systems, allowing multiple refunds on a single receipt before national flagging. Nine debit cards linked to the subjects were identified in 84 fraudulent Florida transactions.

Green was identified as the primary suspect through government-issued IDs, multiple aliases, store surveillance video, return data, and bank records. She was linked to co-subjects Albert Junior Boyce, Jr., Diana Rochelle Harris, and David Lee Griffin and continued activity into April 2021.

Green entered her no contest plea in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in Lee County. She faces up to 75 years in the Florida Department of Corrections. Sentencing is scheduled for August 3, 2026.

This case was being prosecuted by Chief Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Tim Donnelly and Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Paul Thomas in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit of Florida.

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