Officials on Friday announced that a woman from San Diego County has been accused of organizing an alleged multimilian-dollar retail crime ring, stolen over $ 8 million in beauty products across the country.
Investigation began with more than 230, the theft was reported at the inverted beauty stores in Southern California, the investigators determined that the woman had recruited a team of thieves – many of which were young women – to loot the reverse and other retail places so that they could fly stolen goods on their Amazon Storefronts, according to state officials. Officials said he paid his colleagues with a piece of profit.
The operation allegedly lasted for years.
Investigators finally filed allegations of over 140 hooliganism, including the operations against nine defendants involved in the 136 cases of organized retail theft, conspiracy and grand theft. Officials did not say when the allegations were filed, and no suspect was named, including the accused Ringalder. It is not clear whether someone was arrested or not. The Attorney General’s office did not respond when asked for the details or provided a copy of the criminal complaint.
At a news conference on allegations at the California highway petrol station in Sera Mesa, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said that although the action of the woman and her co-speculators was arrogant, these types of operations are not unique or isolated.
Bonta said in a statement, “Organized retail crime has significant financial and safety implications for businesses, retailers and consumers.” “Today, we are addressing an adventurous example of organized retail theft and making it clear that such criminal activity will not be accepted in California.”
State officials said that the woman’s plan targeted the country’s two most popular beauty stores chains and reverse – but that sunglasses were hit and other retail places including Hut, Bath and Body Works and Victoria Secret. The operation resulted in bulk stolen – some of which were caught on monitoring videos. Officials said that once the theft is completed, the item would be either mail or brought to the woman’s PO box or home, where he prepared them for resale at his Amazon Marketplace Store, called the online makeup store, the officials said.
Officials said the investigators later raided the woman’s residence and prepared for the $ 400,000 makeup products stored, organized and shipping. The operation included crimes committed across the country, including San Diego County and 20 other California counties.
Bonta said at Friday’s news conference, “It was complex, it was orchestrated, it was held, and in response, for this, it requires, an organized response – what you’re looking here.”
Online makeup stores reveal more about the federal search warrant operation executed in relation to the 11 packages sent to the address connected to the store.
The warrant filed in the San Diego Federal Court indicates that the ancestor was led by an enterprise ringolder after the authorities were arrested on the east coast in connection with a series of retaliation. One of the women told someone in California, communicating through Facebook, paying the pair’s air fare, renting their vehicles and covering other travel expenses, if women agreed to hit the list of retail stories for specific trading goods.
Investigators later received a warrant to find one of the women’s phones, where they received similar messages in the application WhatsApp. One of the numbers inspired her to a woman, who lived in the San Diego County community in Bonsol.
In messages, the Bonsol woman provided a list of goods to steal, it was needed and how much she would pay, the search warrant showed. The conversations led the investigators to suspect that the woman was using a digital platform to sell her goods, and the online makeup stores discovered clues and some items including a PO box attached to the online makeup store that the woman had stolen that they had taken them to their Amazon Storefront.
The search warrant filed by an agent with the US Postal Inspection Service said, “The items listed for sale were about fifty percent of the real retail price, which was included in the sales list,” read the warrant filed by an agent with the US postal inspection service. “This steep exemption suggested that the item is being fensure.”
The online sales record indicated that the woman sold about $ 8 million in beauty products through the site, according to the warrant.
Using the records made by Amazon, the authorities identified the two addresses associated with the business – the PO Box and the Women’s Ghar. The investigators were able to see photos of the packages that were dropped in an American Postal Service Office and later distributed at two addresses. Using the law enforcement database, some of the sender names were connected to the people tied to retailing in reverse. Investigators later raided the woman’s bonsal house and found a “mini store” in their garage.
The arrest records indicate that the woman named in the warrant was arrested in December, but is no longer in custody.
The San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper reached the woman on the phone on Friday afternoon, and mentioned the call to her lawyer, who did not immediately respond to the remarks requests.
Bonta thanked several agencies for their work on the investigation, including the State Justice Department, California Highway Petrol, Department of Homeland Security, US Postal Inspection Service and Representatives with ULTA and Sephora.
The investigation included the California Department of Justice, California Highway Petrol, Homeland Security Department, US Postal Inspection Service, Los Prevention Organized Retail Crime Team and representatives of Sipora.