BALTIMORE (AP) — A store owner has been sentenced to more than four years in prison for running a scheme in which he directed others to steal items from large retailers and then return them for gift cards.

Forty-five-year-old John Tadros of Baltimore was also ordered to pay $400,000 in restitution at sentencing Tuesday in federal Court in Baltimore.

Prosecutors say Tadros directed people, called “boosters,” to steal items and return them for gift cards. Authorities say the boosters uses fake drivers’ licenses when returning stolen goods without a receipt.

Authorities say Tadros bought the gift cards from the boosters for 50 percent of their value.

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