A Hicksville woman has been sentenced to 364 days in jail for her role in a sprawling organized retail theft operation that prosecutors said stole more than $2.2 million in merchandise from 128 Home Depot stores across nine states.
Joana Carolina “La Mona” Fermin, 39, pleaded guilty June 11 to third-degree criminal possession of stolen property and was sentenced Sept. 30, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Fermin was one of 13 defendants prosecuted in the operation, which authorities said was responsible for 319 documented thefts between August 2024 and September 2025.
Photo: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, right, and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz display some of the more than $1.4 million in stolen merchandise recovered during an investigation into an organized Home Depot theft operation that prosecutors said stole $2.2 million in goods from 128 stores across nine states. Photo courtesy of the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said Fermin served as a lookout during the operation, parking in Home Depot lots and watching for police officers. She also alerted other crew members when they could move the group’s van closer to a store exit, according to the original indictment announcement.
The Queens-based crew allegedly met almost every morning at 5:30 a.m. in an East Elmhurst parking lot to plan which stores to target. Prosecutors said members checked Home Depot’s website and app to identify merchandise available at particular locations before heading out.
Crew members entered stores separately and communicated through earbuds while ringleader Armando Diaz directed them on what to steal and whether employees or others were watching, prosecutors said.
Authorities said merchandise was loaded into large garbage bins or shopping carts and sometimes concealed behind sheetrock or plywood as crew members pushed the goods out of stores. Other members allegedly distracted employees during the thefts.
Among the items stolen were power tools, air conditioners, copper wire, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, insulation, roof coating and other building supplies.
The value of merchandise stolen in a single day ranged from about $1,800 to nearly $35,000, prosecutors said.
Investigators ultimately recovered more than $1.4 million in merchandise during searches of three homes, 14 storage units and eight vehicles. Authorities also forfeited $53,770 and five vehicles.
Diaz, 52, of Flushing, pleaded guilty to first- and second-degree grand larceny and first- and second-degree criminal possession of stolen property. He was sentenced Oct. 5 to three to six years in prison.
His sentencing completed the prosecution of all 13 defendants.
The investigation began in June 2024 after Queens DA detectives conducting surveillance in an unrelated matter spotted air conditioners that had been stolen from Home Depot.
The investigation later involved the New York State Police, Homeland Security Investigations, the New York State Attorney General’s Office and Home Depot.
Authorities said the operation targeted Home Depot stores in New York and eight other states. Publicly released information does not identify the individual stores, and prosecutors have not said whether any of the thefts occurred at Home Depot locations in Nassau or Suffolk counties.
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