The office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta has taken action by filing 140 charges against multiple individuals accused of belonging to an organized retail theft ring. Allegations suggest that the group, over nearly two years, stole beauty products worth almost $8 million from various stores across California.
As per a news release from Bonta’s office, the alleged ringleader, a woman, purportedly instructed several individuals to pilfer merchandise from Ulta Beauty outlets and other retail establishments, subsequently selling the stolen goods online.
In a recent press conference covered by NBC 7, Bonta emphasized, “Our message to those involved in organized retail crime is simple. If you organize coordinated retail theft, if you steal from our businesses and put people in harm’s way, if you try to make an easy buck off of other people’s hard work, we will arrest you and prosecute you.”
The charges, filed on Feb. 16 in San Diego Superior Court against nine defendants, including the accused ringleader, Michelle Mack of Bonsall, along with her husband, include 136 counts of grand theft, two counts of receiving stolen property, one count of conspiracy to commit organized retail theft, and one count of organized retail theft, according to court documents.
California Authorities File 140 Charges Against Southern California Woman Alleged to Lead Crime Ring (Credits: SF Gate)
Bonta’s office alleges that Mack recruited young women to enter makeup stores and steal popular items in bulk, later selling the stolen cosmetics on her Amazon storefront at significantly reduced prices. Court filings revealed one defendant’s text message to Mack on Jan. 7, 2023, stating, “I’m not stealing regular I’m going to start filling up my bag quick. So I want to know stuff I can grab in bulks too.”
According to the news release, losses nationwide due to this multi-year theft operation are estimated at over $7.8 million, with thefts occurring across 21 counties in California, including eight in the Bay Area, excluding San Francisco County. Authorities assert that the crime spree began in December 2021 and concluded late last year.
In court filings, Bonta’s office noted, “the manner in which Defendants carried out the crimes indicates planning, sophistication, or professionalism,” adding that Mack “induced others to participate in the commission of the crime or occupied a position of leadership or dominance of other participants in its commission.”
The investigation involved collaboration between the California Department of Justice, CHP, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and representatives from affected beauty stores, as highlighted in Bonta’s news release.
Law enforcement officials and state lawmakers are intensifying efforts to combat organized retail theft, which has reportedly increased in California over the last decade.
Earlier this month, members of the California State Assembly introduced a comprehensive package of measures aimed at curbing the practice, including one proposing to make the intent to sell stolen property a new crime punishable by up to three years in prison.
