Buyer beware may be the oldest rule in the book.
But one Minnesota couple says they did everything you’re supposed to do — and it still wasn’t enough. For the Becker couple, who own a small construction business, that lesson cost them $8,000.
They purchased a boom lift advertised on Facebook Marketplace after taking extensive steps to make sure the deal was legitimate. They said they checked the serial number with law enforcement, requested proof of ownership and obtained a bill of sale. They even arranged the transaction at a city-designated safe-exchange zone under security cameras.
Nothing indicated the machine was stolen, but six weeks later, deputies showed up at their home to take it away.
“We had done everything to make sure it wasn’t stolen,” the buyer told Alpha News.
The couple asked not to be identified, citing fears of retaliation from those they believe may be involved in a larger equipment theft operation.
‘I got it from auction’
The couple began negotiating for the lift in early June after finding it on Facebook Marketplace. Screenshots provided to Alpha News show the couple communicating with a Facebook seller using a profile under the name Hezekiah Cooks.
The seller was offering multiple boom lifts, including 35-foot and 50-foot models. When the couple said they had $8,000 available for the smaller model, he appeared eager to make a deal.
Eight thousand dollars was significantly less than what the seller claimed the machine had previously sold for, and the buyer acknowledged that gave her some pause. But when the couple asked for proof of ownership, the seller said he had acquired the boom lift through an auction facilitated by Boom & Bucket, an online marketplace for used heavy equipment, and provided what appeared to be an invoice showing the purchase of a 2021 JLG T350 for $19,950.
The couple also searched other Marketplace listings and found comparable lifts advertised in roughly the same price range. In retrospect, the buyer said, they now question whether some of those listings were illegitimate, too.
At the time, however, the couple wasn’t willing to rely on the seller’s word. They asked for the machine’s serial number and requested photographs and video showing that number on the actual lift.
The seller complied, sending photos and video that appeared to confirm the serial number belonged to the lift being offered for sale.
Because the seller said the boom lift was located nearby, the buyer says she contacted three local law enforcement agencies to check the serial number and determine whether it was stolen or connected to any active investigations involving missing equipment. Nothing came back.
They met in a ‘Safe Exchange Zone’
Still nervous about carrying $8,000 in cash to meet strangers from Facebook, the couple took another precaution.
They chose Waite Park’s official Safe Exchange Zone. The city advertises the location specifically for residents buying and selling items online. Two designated parking stalls outside the Waite Park Public Works facility are “in full view of security cameras,” according to the city’s website.
The city says the location is intended to help prevent residents from “being scammed or robbed” and allow strangers to conduct transactions in public “while being recorded.”
The seller did not personally appear. Instead, messages show he told the buyers that a friend or relative would deliver the lift. The equipment arrived, the couple obtained a bill of sale and handed over $8,000.
For all appearances, they owned a boom lift. Over the next several weeks, the couple used it to paint a house, hang gutters and perform other jobs for their construction business.
Then came July 22.
Deputies came knocking
Sherburne County deputies arrived at the couple’s Becker home to recover the machine.
The buyer says she learned the boom lift had been reported stolen from a Home Depot in Missouri. The lift was equipped with tracking technology, she said, which eventually led authorities directly to their property.
Once the couple produced the bill of sale and explained how they acquired the machine, she said it became apparent the deputies believed they had purchased it legitimately.
But that didn’t change the result: the boom lift was taken and their $8,000 was gone. For the small-business owners, it was a significant financial hit.
“That’s a lot of money for our family,” she said.
Timeline of events
The buyer’s own investigation may explain how the couple checked the serial number with police and still ended up with stolen equipment.
According to information she obtained, the boom lift was rented from the Missouri Home Depot for four hours on May 27 but never returned.
Home Depot issued a legal demand June 1 requiring its return by June 5, she said.
The lift wasn’t reported stolen to law enforcement until June 18 — more than two weeks after the couple had already purchased it. Deputies recovered it from their Becker home July 22.
A scheme playing out across the country
What happened to the Becker couple bears striking similarities to equipment theft schemes documented elsewhere in the country.
In 2024, Virginia police warned of a “fraud/theft ring targeting Home Depot locations” in which people were recruited to rent expensive machinery — often boom lifts — that was never returned. Equipment was later recovered in multiple states, according to a press release.
Florida authorities uncovered a similar operation in which heavy equipment rented from Home Depot was quickly advertised on Facebook Marketplace. Unsuspecting buyers lost thousands, while investigators ultimately tied the scheme to 21 pieces of equipment and more than $460,000 in losses to Home Depot, according to a state report.
Last month, three men in Texas were charged with organized criminal activity after authorities said a stolen Home Depot lift was advertised on Facebook Marketplace, according to a media report. Just days later, Texas media reported on a similar case.
Home Depot responds
Home Depot told Alpha News that rental companies cannot necessarily report equipment stolen as soon as it becomes overdue.
“Rental businesses such as The Home Depot are required to complete preliminary steps before we can legally engage law enforcement regarding rental property,” a Home Depot spokesperson said.
The company said requirements vary by jurisdiction but can include attempting to recover the equipment, issuing demand letters and waiting a legally mandated period before filing a loss report.
Home Depot did not confirm the specific dates provided to Alpha News, citing the ongoing investigation, and referred some questions to law enforcement. The company did, however, acknowledge a broader problem with stolen merchandise being moved through online marketplaces.
“Organized retail crime (ORC) is [a] growing problem for all retailers, and The Home Depot is fighting it on all fronts,” the spokesperson said. “Online marketplaces make it increasingly easy to sell stolen and counterfeit items quickly and with little oversight, taking advantage of customers.”
Home Depot said it is using both personnel and technology to combat organized retail crime and working closely with law enforcement and federal and state task forces.
Waite Park police have confirmed to Alpha News that the Minnesota case remains under investigation.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
