Ex-President and Director of electronics-retailer TigerDirect sentenced to 5 years in prison - Two brothers' $10M kickback scheme  Two former senior executives for consumer electronics retailer TigerDirect Inc. and its parent Systemax Inc. were sentenced Tuesday in Florida federal court, each to several years in prison for their roles in a multimillion-dollar kickback scheme with foreign suppliers, and will be required to pay restitution. U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez handed Carl Fiorentino, 57, a prison term of over six years, while 55-year-old Gilbert Fiorentino got five years behind bars. Records show their scam cost Systemax at least $27 million in higher supply costs and that Carl Fiorentino alone received at least $9.5 million in kickbacks from a Taiwanese supplier, RICI International. Read more about this corporate kickback scheme in our D&D Daily coverage last November here. miamiherald.com law360.com

AutoZone seeks retrial in $186-million discrimination case
Auto parts retailer AutoZone Inc, on Wednesday asked for a new trial in the case of a San Diego area store manager who was awarded $186 million last year after a jury agreed she had been demoted and later fired after telling her bosses she was pregnant. At a hearing in San Diego Federal Court, the company asked for a retrial based on what it said were inappropriate incidents involving jurors. AutoZone's lawyer also said that the verdict was based on passion and should be overturned. Rosario Juarez, 43, began at AutoZone in 1999 as a cashier and worked her way up to store manager. She was demoted in 2005 after she told her manager she was pregnant and later filed a complaint over the demotion. Juarez was fired in 2008 amid allegations that she stole $400 from the store. But the loss prevention manager who got Juarez fired later testified she was told to target Juarez. After eight days of trial and less than two days of deliberations, a federal jury awarded Juarez $870,000 in damages and another $185 million in punitive damages. reuters.com

Senator calls for Lumber Liquidators investigation following '60 Minutes' report
The Senate is turning up the heat on Lumber Liquidators, and shares of the company are getting whacked.
In a letter sent to regulators on Wednesday, Senator Bill Nelson (D-Florida) has asked the heads of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to test the company's flooring highlighted during a report on "60 Minutes" on Sunday night. "I ask that your agencies independently investigate and test these specific Chinese wood laminate products to determine if they present a risk to the public under the Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) authority under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act or the limits prescribed by Congress in the Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products Act." Read the senator's full letter here. businessinsider.com

Target Makes $1 Billion Bet on Digital
On last week's earnings call with analysts, Target CEO Brian Cornell said the company's first priority was "to drive industry leading digital sales growth" and "become a leading omnichannel retailer." Yesterday, Mr. Cornell and his team began to provide analysts with some answers on how they intend to achieve those goals. For one, Target announced it would allocate roughly half of the company's $2.1 billion capital expenditures budget for technology, supply chain and inventory management upgrades to help connect more effectively and efficiently with digital consumers. retailwire.com

Interface Security Systems provides technology makeover for 8,200 Family Dollar stores  Systems integrator Interface Security Systems (ISS) is more than halfway through a technology makeover for all of Family Dollar's 8,200 retail store locations. The "Flat Rate Managed Services Project" bundle includes Internet, cellular backup, VoIP phone service, WiFi, PCI security series, intrusion detection, video surveillance and video verification. At Family Dollar, the "total overhaul" of technology will "facilitate a lot of new things," including the use of security video and other data points for business intelligence and mobile applications as well. The project has been underway for a couple of years. ISS completed a 100-store pilot project for Family Dollar in the fall of 2013. It was awarded the contract for all stores in April of 2014. The deployment started in July and is expected to be completed this June. ISS is converting close to 1,000 stores per month, which equates to about 50 stores per day. securitysystemsnews.com

Credit Card Breach at luxury hotel chain Mandarin Oriental
In response to questions from KrebsOnSecurity, upscale hotel chain Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has confirmed that its hotels have been affected by a credit card breach. Reached for comment about reports from financial industry sources about a pattern of fraudulent charges on customer cards that had all recently been used at Mandarin hotels, the company confirmed it is investigating a breach. krebsonsecurity.com

EMV Expected to Increase Application Fraud
The arrival of EMV chipped cards could trigger an increase in credit-card related scams, but analytics could help institutions combat the problem. "The U.S. has $3 billion in losses associated with the card-present fraud, when we roll EMV out where is that fraud going to migrate to? The fraudsters are not going to give up that type of income." Application fraud can take place several ways. Criminals often first commit typical identity theft, whereby they steal someone's identity to open an account. When successful, fraudsters often springboard into adding themselves to a valid account through ID manipulation. In ID manipulation, also called synthetic identity fraud, criminals use actual information, such as social-security numbers, to create fake identities. Technology research and consulting firm Gartner estimated synthetic identity fraud makes up 20% of current credit charge-offs and 80% of credit card fraud losses. cutimes.com

Apple Pay's 'fraud problem' stems from bank's easy verification process  Apple and its banker pals may have inadvertently lowered the barrier to credit card fraud by adding pay-by-wave technology to iPhones, security experts fear. After a credit or debit card is added to an iPhone's Apple Pay, the details are encrypted and sent to banks along with records on the user's iTunes account activity, transaction history and physical whereabouts, as explained in its Apple Pay support page here. These records are used by banks to decided whether to approve adding a card to Apple Pay or to request further checks over a followup phone call. The aim is to weed out people adding stolen cards to Apple Pay. The issue is that some US banks have made this verification easier than it ought to be by only asking callers to prove their identity using the last four digits of their social security number. Social security numbers are not particularly hard for hackers to obtain, and evidence is emerging that the whole setup makes it easier for crims to rack up fraudulent bills on Apple Pay than by traditional plastic theft. theregister.co.uk

Will Drones Fly in Retail? - It's already happening in Germany
Once reserved for sci-fi movies and high-tech war efforts, drones are quickly becoming part of the broader landscape. Amazon made headlines with its plans to make deliveries via drone, but there's an entire world of opportunity beyond that. Drones can help retailers in ways they've never imagined, from site selection and store design to security, building science and logistics. Retail industry futurist Doug Stephens says technology evolves so fast that the implausible can become the norm within a few years, pointing to the Internet and smartphones as examples of technological advances that went from obscurity to mainstream adoption by consumers and retailers in a short time. Stephens says the possibilities with drones are "too compelling for retailers to ignore. ... While we sit here in North America debating whether Amazon will eventually deliver packages by drone, DHL is already doing it in Germany," he says. nrf.com

Sony phasing out its retail stores - but will open 100 new in-store shops with dealers

Roundy's to open 5 new stores in 2015

Bealls to launch new specialty store concept, Bunulu

'Made in the USA' push gets boost from ports debacle

Investor to Staples: Improve your board

U.K. Supermarket Tax Chief Jailed for Insider Trading


Quarterly Same Store Sales Results
Kroger Q4 up 6% - full year comp's up 5.2%
Roundy's Q4 down 2.3% - full year comp's down 2.9%

February Same Store Sales Results
Tandy Leather Factory up 9%
Zumiez up 6.9%
L Brands up 6%
Rite Aid up 3.3%
Fred's flat
The Buckle down 2.7%
Conn's down 5.8%
Cato Corp. down 10%

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WZ & IAI Tests Interviewers' Skills at the FMI AP Conference

CHICAGO, March 4, 2015 - Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates (WZ) and the International Association of Interviewers (IAI) helps interviewers test their skills at the Food Marketing Institute's Asset Protection conference March 9-12 in Memphis. Participants can play IAI's version of the popular "CLUE" game by ultimately visiting all of IAI's solution provider sponsors.

The IAI sponsors are excited to see how fast participants discover their identities and will reward participants with cool prizes such as:
 

Participants can pick up the "CLUE" game card at the IAI Power-Up Station, by seeing Wayne Hoover, CFI or by visiting one of our sponsors' booths. Sponsors participating include Checkview Corporation, InstaKey Security Systems, LP Innovations, Security Resources and General Dynamics IT.

"We thought the 'CLUE' throw-back game would be a fun way for participants to learn more about our IAI sponsors," said Wayne Hoover, CFI, executive director of IAI. "Several of our sponsors will be giving away Certified Forensic Interviewer (CFI) scholarships as well as IAI memberships to qualified participants. Stop by our sponsors' booths to inquire about these valuable educational packages."

Join IAI at www.certifiedinterviewer.com.

About the International Association of Interviewers
The International Association of Interviewers (IAI) is the only association specifically for CFI designees as well as all those dedicated to the art of interviewing and interrogation. The IAI mission is to provide educational, business and networking opportunities to interviewers from all disciplines through valuable resources such as instructive events, useful Web content, exclusive Webinars and much more. To learn more about IAI membership and existing educational resources visit www.certifiedinterviewer.com.
 

2015's Let's Get LP Social

We still want your Group LP Selfies - So keep them coming retail LP teams!

Submit a group selfie of you and your LP team and you could get a plaque. Please submit a high resolution photo (300 dpi) and logo at 5" wide for your printed plaque, and if you have a tagline or slogan either from your team or from the company, please send it to us as well for inclusion on the plaques and here on the Daily. Click here for more details. 

The Staples Global Loss Prevention Team -
Division 1 at their Global LP Conference in Mystic, CT

"To become a world class Global Loss Prevention team through partnership with our customers and associates"


Originally published on September 17, 2014
View all the selfies here!

Secret Service task force raids central Ohio businesses - $2M in skimming, tax fraud, identity theft  A Secret Service task force raided a number of central Ohio businesses this week as part of an investigation into skimming, money laundering, tax fraud and identity theft. Agents arrested five people accused of operating an organized crime. The group stole about $2 million through skimming, tax fraud and identity theft, agents said. Schuck confirmed that investigators removed ATM and lottery machines from some of the businesses during the raids. The task force, which includes local law enforcement and state and federal agencies, investigates financial and electronic crimes. "The dismantling of this criminal operation demonstrates the exceptional capabilities of our task force partnerships," said Mark Porter, Secret Service special agent in charge. dispatch.com

New York Jewelry Store Owner Pleaded Guilty for Purchasing and Reselling Jewelry Stolen in Armed Robberies  A New York jeweler pleaded guilty in federal court in Atlanta Tuesday to two counts of interstate transportation of stolen property in connection with jewelry he purchased from an armed robbery ring and then sold in New York. Carlos Parra, 64, a resident of New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones of the Northern District of Georgia. Parra admitted in court that he was contacted by a member of an armed robbery crew that stole over $100,000 in jewelry from a courier on Jan. 31, 2013. Parra flew from New York, where his jewelry business was based, to Atlanta to purchase the jewelry from the robbery crew for approximately $16,000. Parra admitted that he had dealt with these robbers or their associates in the past and knew the jewelry was stolen. Parra further admitted to purchasing jewelry from a robbery crew in Houston in August 2012. In that instance, the robbery crew stole over $500,000 from a jewelry courier during an armed robbery on Aug. 27, 2012. Parra admitted that he flew to Texas to purchase the stolen jewelry at a discounted rate because it was stolen. He later sold the jewelry in New York to wholesalers for a profit. fbi.gov

NY man charged with fraud in Mansfield - suspected of being part of larger fraud ring  A New York man was arraigned Wednesday in a Mansfield fraud case, but authorities allege he is connected to a larger fraud ring responsible for illegally obtaining $20,000 in cell phones and electronics. Kodio A. Kondon, 28, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was ordered held in jail on $10,000 cash bail after pleading innocent to related charges in Attleboro District Court. Kondon was arrested around 3 p.m. Tuesday after workers at the Sprint store called police about a man suspected in fraud cases at other Sprint stores. Stewart was arrested around 7:30 p.m. after running out of Best Buy at the same mall, where police say he allegedly attempted to purchase a $1,700 Mac Book Pro lap top using a phony credit card and a fraudulent Ohio driver's license, according to police. Mansfield detectives obtained two search warrants this afternoon for Stewart's belongings and a car he rented which was found parked outside the Best Buy store. Inside the car, police recovered around $8,000 in alleged stolen merchandise, Assistant District Attorney Noah Ertel said during a bail hearing. When police checked his rented car, they found five cell phones worth $3,500 still in their packages from Verizon and T-Mobile stores without any sales receipts, according to police. thesunchronicle.com

Pleasant Prairie, WI man charged in two dozen retail thefts across three states
A man suspected in two dozen retail thefts in three states was arrested Friday in Pleasant Prairie. William C. Maysack, 30, of Pleasant Prairie, is charged with two counts of retail theft and one of possession of drug paraphernalia for a series of incidents in the village last month. Two other men are named in the complaints, but have not yet been charged. Maysack and his partner had been shoplifting in the Lake County, Illinois area, using an electronic security wand to remove sensors from electronic items and taking Motorola smart watches and Beats Pill speaker systems. Pleasant Prairie staff checked their electronics area and found one of each of those items missing, according to a criminal complaint. Security footage allowed them to identify two men who came in and took the items, removed the security sensors and the left the store. Maysack's probation agent told Pleasant Prairie police that the two men were suspected in a string of retail thefts in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. kenoshanews.com

Man pleads guilty for role in tri-state area multi-million dollar theft ring  One of more than a dozen people involved with a retail theft ring pleads guilty. Robert Savage pleaded guilty to one charge of corrupt business influence, a felony. Savage was one of the defendants involved in the Dealmakers case. In early August 2014, the FBI raided the Dealmaker's locations in Henderson and Newburgh along with an iPhone repair store on Washington Avenue. Detectives believe the theft ring's kingpins, Kyle Hudson and Michael Rupert, would have people steal goods from local stores and sell those goods on eBay. They're both expected to make their next court appearance later this month. tristatehomepage.com

Burglars take more than $100,000 in designer glasses from Lakeland Sunglass Hut

Two men arrested on organized retail theft charges in Overton, TX

Man steals $500 of vodka from Mount Prospect, IL Jewel-Osco Food Store

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How to Finesse the 4 Biggest Workplace Distractions  You have mobile devices, chatty co-workers, browsing the internet, and social media notifications that are only some of the most notorious productivity killers. Looking to cut some of these distractions down? Here are some ways you can defend yourself against these productivity killers. Keep busy

How to Increase Productivity by Taming Your Racing Thoughts  You may find filtering through all of your thoughts can be frustrating and stressful. This distraction can be costly as mistakes can be made and time gets wasted moving from one project to another. If you can't figure out how to settle your mind, here are some tips to help you out. Slow down