|
|
|
 Partnership
between police and local retailers nets organized retail thieves trafficking
stolen property Yesterday morning
Renton police seized more than 200 cans of baby formula destined for the black
market of Vietnam, following a year-long investigation. The formula, valued at
about $5,400 is back in the hands of Safeway and QFC, just two of the many
retailers targeted by thieves in recent months. The suspect, Nguyen Tran Nguyen,
has been booked for Felony Investigation of Attempted Trafficking in Stolen
Property 1st Degree. Utilizing undercover officers investigators contacted a
couple, Whitney Dale-Benson and Christopher Gannon, who offered to sell
investigators several cans of stolen baby formula. The investigators developed a
relationship with the couple, known thieves in the area of Organized Retail
Theft, who stole thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise during the course of
this investigation. The relationship led to the identification of Nguyen as the
person who had previously purchased their stolen goods. During a five month
period in 2014, Nguyen purchased from investigators more than $26,000 in what
she believed to be stolen merchandise. She told investigators that she shipped
the stolen baby formula to “her sister in Vietnam.” “Organized Retail Crime is a growing issue for retailers
and for law enforcement. We appreciate the opportunity to partner with Safeway
and QFC; without their assistance this case would not have come to fruition,”
said Chief Kevin Milosevich. Thanks Denny Dansak for this story!
(Source
rentonwa.gov)
Man who made $600K using stolen credit-card numbers pleads guilty
A Bronx man pleaded guilty Thursday to managing a $600,000 scheme involving
nearly 200 stolen credit-card numbers. Luis Tavarez, 34, and four others
allegedly got the numbers from Web sites where users sell and exchange
credit-card information. Tavarez put the stolen account information onto
counterfeit cards and used them to make hundreds of unauthorized purchases.
(Source
nypost.com)
 Two
charged with large scale theft ring in Chicago hitting Target stores A
regional fraud investigator for Target Corporation said the two men, spotted at
the store in Destin, were believed to be part of a ring involved with altering
or modifying receipts and returning merchandise. The men are accused of altering
receipts to return single items at the price of two of the items. Each man
received more than $1,200 in fraudulent returns in Destin, according to the
arrest reports. The men’s vehicle was searched and investigators found wireless
baby monitors, Bluetooth equipments, numerous Target bags, receipts and other
items, the release said. An active multi-jurisdictional investigation into the
scheme is underway. (Source
nwfdailynews.com)
 Two
member ORC gang busted hitting Lowe's screen-stealing scheme in Orlando
Two Orlando men are facing charges out of Polk County, one suspected of stealing
fiberglass screens from area Lowe's home-improvement stores while the other
acted as a lookout, the Sheriff's Office said. Hamlin told deputies he had been
driven to the store by 51-year-old Vincent Wilkinson, who would act as a lookout
while Hamlin stole rolls of screen for Wilkinson's screening company, V's
Screening. The Polk County Sheriff's Office said the two men face organized
retail crime charges. Wilkinson fled from the Lakeland store when Hamlin was
apprehended. (Source
orlandosentinel.com)
Two women charged with felony organized retail crime enterprise in Rochester, NY
hitting Walmart stores
The two women charged with felony organized retail crime enterprise — for
allegedly stealing items from Walmart and returning them for a gift card —
pleaded not guilty and waived arraignment at Strafford County Superior Court
this week. Samantha Beyer, 23, and Audrey Morelle, 45, both of 26 Liberty Cir.,
Milton, allegedly worked together to commit theft at Rochester’s Walmart in
January, in a for-profit scheme. (Source
fosters.com)
Brooklyn Couple uses fake credit cards to buy $100K worth of baby formula
They had a formula for making money. Cops have charged a Brooklyn couple with
using phony credit cards to buy more than $100,000 worth of Enfamil baby formula
from a wholesale chain and shipping it to China. Zhao Rong, 26, and Chen Xun,
31, used different CitiBank credit cards to buy the formula from various BJ’s
Wholesale outlets. But store workers got suspicious when the purchases were made
with the same BJ’s membership card. BJ’s and the bank alerted the NYPD’s new
citywide grand-larceny unit. The next time the membership card was used, the
unit caught up with the couple at a BJ’s in The Bronx. (Source
nypost.com)
Oshawa credit card thief racks up $3,000 in purchases within minutes
Duo nabbed for theft of two $3,000 rings from Cromwell, VA Kmart
|
 |
|
|
|
