PORTLAND — One of three New York men arrested in Auburn in November 2019 for allegedly conspiring to use bogus identification to make off with goods from four Home Depot stores in Maine denied a related charge in federal court Thursday.

Mickey Augusto Mejia Rosario, 22, of  New York City pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, a Class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Federal authorities said Rosario was part of a trio from the Bronx that attempted to defraud Home Depot stores in Maine by opening store credit card accounts using driver’s license information belonging to other people.

On Nov. 26, one of Rosario’s co-defendants, Gilbert Reyes, 21, established a Home Depot credit card account at the Biddeford store using a phony Connecticut driver’s license. He purchased nearly $2,500 in merchandise at that store using that account, according to an affidavit written by a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service.

Roughly two hours later, Reyes was seen entering the Home Depot store in South Portland where he tried to buy goods using a credit account stored on his cellphone. After a sales associate asked him for additional information, he left the store, according to the affidavit.

Another member of the trio, Jeremy Francisco Pinales-Diaz, 22, was seen entering that store, but left without buying anything before driving off in the same van as Reyes.

The van pulled into the lot of the Portland Home Depot store next, about an hour later. There, Reyes bought nearly $2,500 worth of merchandise using the credit card from the Biddeford store. Pinales-Diaz opened a credit account electronically at the service desk, then went shopping. His purchases appeared to be rejected at the register.

That evening, Reyes entered the Home Depot in Auburn where he tried to buy numerous items in the self-checkout line using a newly opened credit account. When a sales associate sought additional identification from Reyes, he walk out of the store, according to the affidavit.

Minutes after Reyes entered the store, Pinales-Diaz tried to buy items at the self-checkout register using a recently opened store credit account, but the transaction was denied and he left the store. He climbed into a van that was described by store personnel to local police, who later stopped the van.

Three men were in van, including Reyes, Pinales-Diaz and Rosario.

Reyes told police he had come to Maine to open Home Depot credit cards in other people’s names. He said someone in the Dominican Republic gave him personal information of other people in whose names he would open store credit accounts. He then would buy store items with those accounts, then resell some of the merchandise.

He showed police a Connecticut driver’s license in the name of someone else, but with Reyes’ picture. He showed police credit line documents from Home Depot that included the same name that was on the Connecticut license.

He said there was roughly $4,000 in merchandise from Home Depot stores in the van using the fake store credit cards.

Rosario had served as the van’s driver since New York and knew “what was taking place” as they drove from store to store, Reyes told police.

Pinales-Diaz told police he tried to “get accounts” but hadn’t been approved for credit to buy anything. He said he had thrown his fake identification out the van’s window.

A search warrant for the van turned up electronics and power tools, many new and in original packaging from the Maine stores.

Officers also recovered documents showing at least seven Home Depot credit accounts in the names of various people and businesses, but none in the actual names of the three men, according to the affidavit.

U.S. District Court Judge Jon Levy appointed an attorney Thursday to represent Rosairo. A trial is scheduled for March.

Rosario is free on bail with restrictions that include travel only in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maine. He is not allowed within five miles of any airport.

Neither Reyes nor Pinales-Diaz has made an appearance in federal court in Portland.