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bail for parents in Northbrook $7M family shoplifting case A
Northbrook couple charged in a cross-country shoplifting spree was ordered held
without bail Monday after prosecutors raised concerns the wife was faking health
difficulties and her husband was concealing their wealth. U.S. Magistrate Judge
Michael Mason detained both Branko and Lela Bogdanov as risks to flee if they
were released while awaiting trial on charges of interstate transportation of
stolen property. The decade-long scheme netted the family more than $4 million
in eBay sales, much of it stolen by Lela Bogdanov inside a bulky black dress
outfitted with compartments for stuffing large merchandise, charges alleged.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Renato Mariotti sought detention because he said both
were in the U.S. illegally. The prosecutor said the husband lied about their
financial holdings and the wife falsely pretended to be “feeble” and unable to
understand English. Mariotti said she had given lengthy interviews in English
after her arrest last week. At one point, she scolded my agent and said...she
spoke English,” said Mariotti, his words translated by an interpreter into
Serbo-Croatian for Lela Bogdanov, who stood before the judge in orange jail
clothing with her long hair in a ponytail. Mariotti also alleged she had tried
to give the appearance in court of being a “feeble person” who “shuffled” to the
front of the courtroom and leaned on a lectern to keep her balance even though
surveillance video showed her “sprinting very quickly in and out of the stores
with great agility.” Mariotti said Branko Bogdanov lied to federal authorities,
claiming he had a negative net worth of $28,000 even though he owns a 5-bedroom
Northbrook home worth well over $1 million and owns a dozen vehicles. The judge
continued the hearing for Bogdanov's daughter, Julia, until Tuesday so she can
attempt to find a suitable person to stay with while on bail. Mason rejected her
first choice, her sister Sylvia, after learning she had been convicted once of
retail theft. (Source
chicagotribune.com)
Oil City, Pa. man jailed on charges he stole & resold teeth whitener strips in
local store A man has been charged with shoplifting teeth whitening
strips from a grocery store, then reselling them to a secondhand shop in
northwestern Pennsylvania. The (Oil City) Derrick reports Kofalt stole the
whiteners from a store in Cranberry Township, then resold them at The Attic, the
second-hand store in Oil City, on five occasions. Kofalt has three previous
retail theft convictions, making the current charges against him misdemeanors. (Source
westport-news.com)
Credit fraud suspect arrested at Best Buy in Stafford, MD; attempting to
purchase 4 iPads A Maryland woman was arrested Saturday
shortly after she opened a credit card account in someone else's name and
purchased an iPad. Stafford County Sheriff said the woman entered the Best Buy
and inquired about iPads. She then asked to apply for a store credit card. She
handed the manager an out-of-state identification and her application was
approved. But the manager became suspicious after noticing that she was looking
at her phone as she entered a Social Security number. The woman then announced
that she wanted to purchase three more iPads. When she went into the bathroom,
the manager called the Sheriff's Office. The woman was still in the store when
Sgt. Deuntay Diggs arrived. She said she knew nothing about any forgery, then
ran out of the store after giving Diggs what turned out to be a fictitious name.
Diggs quickly apprehended her and took her into custody.
(Source
hispanicbusiness.com)
Walmart thief gets 15 days in jail
A West Virginia man whose theft spree at multiple Walmart stores
ended in Marietta was sentenced Monday in Washington County Common Pleas Court
to 15 days in jail-which he will finish serving in late September. Cody Peters,
28, pleaded guilty Jan. 21 to a fifth-degree felony count of theft for his role
in the thefts where he and another Weston man-Rick A. Meitzen Jr.,
33-successfully stole items from Walmart stores in St. Clairsville and Cambridge
before getting caught trying to roll out of the Marietta Walmart with cartloads
of unpaid merchandise on May 14. (Source
mariettatimes.com)
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