Illinois Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Operating $20 Million Nationwide Retail
Crime Ring
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An Illinois man was sentenced today to 15 years in federal prison for running
a multi-million dollar retail crime scheme, announced U.S. Attorney for the
Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.
A federal jury found Artur Gilowski, 48, of Barrington, IL, guilty of conspiracy
to commit interstate transportation of stolen property and conspiracy to commit
mail fraud at a trial in March. He was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District
Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn, who ordered him to forfeit several pieces of real
property in Illinois and hundreds of dollars seized from various bank accounts.
According to evidence presented at trial, Mr. Gilowski's coconspirators stole
tens of thousands of products - valued at over $20 million - from
brick-and-mortar retail stores across the United States, then shipped them
to Mr. Gilowski, who sold the stolen goods on various e-commerce websites,
generating more than $11 million in profits.
The thieves traveled across the country in vehicles registered under false
names and used "booster skirts" (garments with concealment pouches for
stolen goods) and electronic transmitters designed to disrupt retailers'
anti-theft and loss-prevention measures. Using aliases, they rented storage
lockers where they kept the stolen items until they could be shipped to
interstate and foreign customers via the U.S. Postal Service, UPS, and FedEx.
Mr. Gilowski created a network of numerous online seller profiles, multiple
bank accounts, and various companies registered in other people's names to
conduct the unlawful online sale scheme and funnel the proceeds of his illicit
operation to himself.
The evidence also showed that Mr. Gilowski received over a million dollars in
cash from his crime ring - including $97,000 that was found in the center
console of Mr. Gilowski's truck - which led one of Mr. Gilowski's coconspirators
to testify at trial that Mr. Gilowski "treated money like trash."
"Mr. Gilowski and his coconspirators swiped thousands of products from retail
shelves, then resold stolen goods online," U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham said
after the verdict. "We are proud to hold these defendants accountable for their
crimes, and are grateful to the jury for their careful consideration of our
case."
"Organized retail crime leads to consumers having to pay higher prices for
goods, fewer job openings, and a decrease in consumer spending on legitimate
goods that small-business owners and other retailers depend on for survival,"
said Deputy Special Agent in Charge Christopher Miller, HSI Dallas. "Working
alongside the U. S. Attorney's Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and
Arlington Heights (Illinois) Police Department, we were able to secure today's
conviction, and take another step in our ongoing fight against organized retail
crime so consumers and retailers don't have to bear the brunt of those impacts."
Five of Mr. Gilowski's coconspirators pleaded guilty prior to trial.
At this week's sentencing hearing, the judge ruled that a sentencing
enhancement was warranted because Mr. Gilowski lied on the stand. At trial,
the defendant falsely told the jury that the phone found in his own vehicle
-which contained highly inculpatory text messages- didn't belong to him, but to
a coconspirator, who Mr. Gilowski said left the phone in his car to register GPS
coordinates to conceal a purported extramarital affair.
The Arlington Heights Police Department in Illinois conducted the investigation
with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations' Dallas Field Office and
the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Fabio Leonardi and
Camille Sparks prosecuted the case.
justice.gov
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