NBC NEWS Covers NRF's ORC Survey release: Online Bargains Might Be Stolen Goods  Bargain hunters beware: Your online auction purchase might be stolen goods. Retailers estimate that one-third of auction and blog sites' listings for "new in box" or "new with tags" items are actually goods that were stolen through organized retail theft or otherwise fraudulently obtained, according to a new National Retail Federation report. Nearly two-thirds — 61.1 percent — of the 76 retail loss prevention executives surveyed reported seeing an increase in such "e-fencing" over the past year. "Thieves are preying on people looking for the best price," said Rich Mellor, senior adviser for asset protection at the NRF. "What thieves pick comes down to two attributes: "small box, big value," said Mark Turnage, chief executive of OpSec Security, which has monitored online sites for stolen items on behalf of clients. Commonly stolen items include razor blades, makeup, skincare products, baby formula, over-the-counter medications and tooth-whitening strips. Thieves also lift small gadgets such as disposable cellphones, digital cameras and electric shavers. Gift-card buyers may be an unwitting link in the retail-theft chain, too. About three-quarters of retailers told the NRF they see thieves returning stolen merchandise to get store credit, which the thieves then sell on the secondary market. Shoppers would encounter those as secondhand gift cards, probably loaded with an odd dollar amount. (Source nbcnews.com)

York County DA's Office: 90 pleaded guilty in West York theft ring - Follow up to last years 133 person ORC ring bust  For more than a year and a half, James Lee Giuffrida, the alleged mastermind behind a large West York theft ring, has been in York County Prison awaiting his day in county court. In that time, nearly all of his 133 co-defendants have cycled through the justice system, most pleading guilty. As of May 6, 90 had pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the case, said Kyle King, spokesman for the York County District Attorney's Office. The remaining 43 people charged in the case are either awaiting trial, awaiting admission to ARD or treatment court or had their charges dropped, King said. Two of those who pleaded guilty had also previously pleaded guilty in the 2012 armed robbery at Papertown Dairy Bar in Spring Grove. Giuffrida remains in York County Prison on $25,000 bail and on a probation detainer. He has been there since his arrest in November 2012. Now Giuffrida is slated to stand trial starting June 1 on two counts of organized retail theft and one count each of retail theft, receiving stolen property, corrupt organizations and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, court records state. However, Gross said a trial could be averted if a deal - one example of which would allow Giuffrida to plead no contest - is struck with the district attorney's office. Defendants who plead no contest aren't admitting guilt. Rather, they are saying they don't contest the charges against them. Otherwise, a no-contest plea has the same effect as a guilty plea. Gross said. "He (Giuffrida) is a realistic man. We'd like to see it come to an end." (Source yorkdispatch.com)

Mississippi based case nets "The Yahoo Boys" gang - 16 arrests on fraud with ties to South Africa and Nigeria  Sixteen people from several states and other countries have been arrested on charges that they took part in a fraud that used stolen information to get money and goods and then ship them to South Africa and Nigeria, according to documents unsealed in federal court Tuesday. The charges by the U.S. Attorney's office filed in Gulfport, Mississippi, against Oluyitan Olagoke of Brooklyn, New York, say he and others were part of the Yahoo Boys, a west African gang. The indictment alleges a West African transnational organized crime enterprise involved in numerous complex financial fraud schemes over the internet. This mass marketing fraud includes romance scams, re-shipping scams, fraudulent check scams and work-at-home scams, along with bank, financial and credit card account take-overs. The charges and a related indictment against 17 other people say that the gang would buy bank account information from hackers, steal money, and then send cash or goods to Africa. The document said people were arrested in South Africa, Canada, California, Wisconsin, Indiana and New York. Of the arrests, 10 occurred in South Africa, mostly of Nigerian citizens. Those defendants are supposed to be extradited to Gulfport to face charges. The accused would try, for example, to take over bank or stock brokerage accounts, draining them of money by sending checks, wire transfers, or withdrawing money at automated tellers. Sometimes the money would be used to buy goods such as cellphones. (Source fairfieldcitizenonline.com)

Thefts of Tide on the rise in Las Vegas
Metro Police say the household necessity is fetching between a third and two-thirds of its retail price on the streets, meaning quick cash for thieves and stolen-product peddlers. "It seems that with every passing year, it just keeps increasing,” said Metro Detective Chris Archer, who works on the department’s Retail Apprehension Prevention Partnership team. Last year, the RAPP team made about 180 arrests for retail thefts, about half of which involved laundry detergent — Tide, in particular — and beauty items such as deodorant, razors and shampoo, he said. Police say there are two tiers of offenders: the low-level thieves and the “fences.” The low-level thieves — mostly young men needing to fund a drug habit — steal the items from drugstores, supermarkets and big-box retailers, and sell them to fences, who buy the stolen goods for about a third of their retail price. The fences, in turn, sell the items to consumers for about two-thirds of their retail price. The RAPP team formed in March 2013 as a way to combat the rising number of retail thefts, Sgt. William Seifert said. Detectives now routinely work with the Southern Nevada Organized Retail Crime Association, which boasts several hundred members, including retailers and law enforcers, who share information. An undercover operation led to detectives arresting six people Sept. 20, including several “fences” selling stolen items at Broadacres Marketplace and Event Center, according to arrest reports. “It’s a constant problem that I don’t really see an end to anytime soon,” Archer said. “It’s going to be a challenge for a long time to come.” (Source lasvegassun.com)

Dick’s Sporting Goods brings a Multistate crime spree to an end in Clarksville, Indiana  Clarksville police arrested two California women they believe were involved in a multistate crime operation and now the Secret Service is involved. Maria Orta, 24, and Monet Love, 23, were arrested Sunday across the street from the police station where they were trying to use counterfeit travelers checks, according to police. Police said they recovered stolen clothing, fake IDs, hundreds of dollars in fraudulent traveler's checks and thousands of dollars in cash from the women Authorities believe the two are part of an even bigger, multi-state, crime operation. Police said the women rented a car in Missouri before making their way to southern Indiana. Their journey came to an end at Dick's Sporting Goods in Clarksville. Police say a store manager became suspicious when the women tried to make a purchase using traveler's checks. "He said they had received info from other stores that these females were fitting the description of the ones that had been passing these checks," Police said they found nearly $5,000 in bags of money in the women's car. Detectives believe the women got it from cashing the counterfeit checks. Police believe the women would use traveler's checks to purchase small items and get change back from retailers. Police said each check had a different name on it and several corresponding IDs were also discovered. (Source wlky.com)

Man and woman duo hit Walmart store in Ocala, FL.
Officials said 303 items – including an electric tooth brushes, sporting goods and dental hygiene items –- valued at a total of $6,973.19 -- were reported stolen Monday. The man was seen entering a white Jeep Cherokee. The woman was seen putting the items in the Jeep, which then left the area. Police are looking for them. (Source ocala.com)

Six-hour shoplifting spree leads to arrest in Stafford County, Va.
A Woodbridge woman was charged with felony shoplifting Monday after police said she spent nearly six hours taking 300 items from a Walmart in Stafford County. Maureen Elizabeth Lassiter, 56, was charged with felony shoplifting, possession of stolen property with the intent to sell and illegal possession of drugs. (Source fredericksburg.com)