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Boston police officer charged in connection to gift card scam

BOSTON — A Boston Police officer accused of running a gift car scam appeared in court Tuesday on fraud charges.

Mila Depina-Cooley, a 14-year BPD veteran, is now on unpaid leave as the investigation and legal proceedings into her alleged wrong-doing take place.

The case goes back to 2010 when Depina-Cooley "knowingly obtained stolen Home Depot property," according to the prosecutor.
Paperwork obtained by FOX25 goes into more details.

“Mila Depina-Cooley did participate in a scheme with others, known and unknown to the Commonwealth, at least one of whom was an employee of The Home Depot,” the paperwork says.

According to the paperwork, the Home Depot employee stole merchandise then returned it for store credit without a receipt. Those store credits were later used to purchase gift cards.

After court, Depina-Cooley’s defense attorney, Michael Doolin, spoke about the case.

“I think she’s very likely to get her position back. We have a very strong case and we look forward to going to court and proving it in front of a jury,” he said.