Chicago, IL: Daughter pleads guilty in $4.2M Organized toy theft spree
When workers tried to stop her parents from fleeing an Oklahoma Barnes & Noble after an alarm began to wail, Julia Bogdanov helped them get away, prosecutors said. When a detective for the bookstore - this time in Maryland - fingered Branko and Lela Bogdanov as thieves and tried to stop them from absconding with as many as 10 mini-American Girl dolls possibly stuffed under Lela's skirt, Julia ran interference and told the detective her mother was a cancer patient. Julia Bogdanov joined her parents as they allegedly targeted toy stores all across America and fetched $4.2 million selling the stolen goods on eBay. But Thursday, Julia Bogdanov was joined only by her attorney as she pleaded guilty in front of U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood to conspiring with her parents to commit the crime spree. She faces as many as five years in prison at her sentencing hearing, which is set for March 3. Her ultimate sentence is more likely to fall between 18 and 24 months. Branko and Lela Bogdanov are set to plead guilty Friday. The three Bogdanovs were arrested in March 2014 by the U.S. Secret Service, which teamed up with investigators from Toys "R" Us, eBay and Barnes & Noble to nab the family. Assistant U.S. Attorney Renato Mariotti told the judge authorities found $74,698 in merchandise in the family's tony Northbrook home. suntimes.com

Daytona Beach, FL: Haynes Brothers Furniture owners, employee
charged in $24 Million theft ring
Three family members in Haynes Brothers Furniture here have been charged with racketeering and grand theft in a $24 million printer toner resale ring. The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported David Haynes and his two sons, Jason and Kyle Haynes, of the five-store Haynes Brothers chain, along with employee Bryan Day, were each charged with racketeering and three counts of grand theft of more than $100,000. A state investigation determined they each made about $800,000 reselling toner belonging to Xerox Corp., the report said. Convicted sexual predator Robert Fisher also is wanted in connection with the theft, the report said. The three Haynes family members and employee allegedly defrauded the Xerox Co. in a scheme that started in 2008, lasted until 2013 and involved establishing two ghost companies. Xerox initially estimated its loss at about $7 million, but after a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation, the loss was bumped up to nearly $24 million. The Hayneses and Day initially set up an HDH Graphics company as a legitimate side business. "But after they discovered how easy it was to order toner from Xerox, the focus shifted to ordering toner and selling it on eBay." furnituretoday.com

Racine, WI: Woman faces felony theft charges for stealing $1,600 of baby formula; hit Walmart and Pick N Save
A Racine woman faces four counts of theft, including two felonies, after allegedly stealing more than $1,600 worth of baby formula over eight days earlier this fall. Shaunese N. Felton, 35, was scheduled to be in court Thursday for her initial appearance on two counts of felony retail theft and two counts of misdemeanor retail theft. She allegedly stole more than 64 cans of baby formula worth $1,627 between Aug. 26 and Sept. 2. But Felton was ill, court records showed, and her initial appearance was rescheduled for Dec. 3. Mount Pleasant Police officers discovered that Felton and an accomplice allegedly stole 28 cans of baby formula from Pick 'n Save on Aug. 26; six cans from the same store on Aug. 29; and 30 more cans on Aug. 30. On Sept. 2, the duo allegedly took an undetermined amount of formula from the Walmart Superstore in Burlington. journaltimes.com

Clearfield, PA: The Lawrence Township Police Department is investigating an alleged "push out" retail theft incident that occurred at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Clearfield
According to police, the alleged theft occurred between 3:50 a.m. and 4:10 a.m. July 12. Asset protection personnel told police that an assistant manager allegedly found a man walking out of the garden center's fire door with a tote full of merchandise at 4:10 a.m. Asset protection personnel told police that after reviewing surveillance video, they allegedly watched the man put tablets, laptops and routers in a large storage tote that was being pushed in a cart. He also allegedly took a computer and monitor before exiting the fire door in the garden center without paying for the merchandise. The total value of the stolen items is $1,985.84, police said. Asset protection personnel told police that they contacted the Dubois Wal-Mart store, which confirmed the male appeared to be the same suspect in recent retail thefts there. gantdaily.com

Buffalo, NY: Cuban woman admits to making counterfeit credit cards
A Cuban woman could be deported after pleading guilty to her part in a counterfeit credit card operation. The U.S. Attorney's office in Buffalo says 22-year-old Claudia Diaz Diaz pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Prosecutors say she is among six Cuban nationals accused of stealing the credit and debit card numbers of dozens of victims and encoding them on counterfeit cards, which they then used at western New York stores. Three others were convicted earlier and charges are still pending in the other two cases. The conspiracy charge carries a maximum prison term of 30 years. According to court documents, it's also a removable offense and deportation is likely. poststar.com

Huber Heights, OH: 3 Florida residents busted in Ohio
with 50-100 fraudulent credit cards
Police have arrested three people they suspect were using stolen or fraudulent credit cards in the region. Lizan Hernandez, Heidy Estevez and Elvis Fonseca were arrested at the Kohls, 8301 Old Troy Pike, on Nov. 6 and were found to be in possession of between 50-100 stolen or fraudulent credit cards, according to police. Police said the trio were visiting the area from Florida. nationalcybersecurity.com

Tulsa, OK: Tulsa Co Deputies make 5th arrest in massive forgery, ID theft investigation
Tulsa County Sheriff's Office investigators have made another arrest in a massive forgery case. Kaitlin Elizabeth Lemons, 29, of Tulsa was booked into the Tulsa Jail on Thursday on a litany of complaints, including 155 counts of second-degree forgery, 24 counts of possession of an altered driver's license, six counts of identity theft, three counts of uttering a forged instrument, two counts of knowingly concealing stolen property, conspiracy to commit a felony and destroying evidence, jail records indicate. Lemons was arrested after deputies went to the Motel 6 on Nov. 5 to conduct a follow-up to a fraud report, according to an arrest report. Once there, deputies served a search warrant and arrested Nicholas Russell and Courtney Chadwick on 111 counts of second-degree forgery. In the room, detectives found computers, printers, laminate paper, a camera, a shredder containing what appeared to be Oklahoma driver's licenses, mail from multiple addresses and other materials commonly used for forgery, along with drugs and drug paraphernalia. tulsaworld.com

Louisville, KY: Man accused of stealing 45 cartons of cigarettes from grocery store

Palm Desert, CA: Thief Preyed on Apple Store Customers, following customers and stealing new electronics from their cars