UK: Southampton 'highly organized' eBay gang sentenced  The gang from Southampton and Eastleigh, were involved in a conspiracy to shoplift from Homebase and B&Q stores in 13 counties. They are believed to have made more than $428,000 selling items such as showers, bathroom fittings and vacuum cleaners online. Six men and four women were jailed. Two others avoided jail. The orchestrator of the thefts George Mason, who was sentenced to five years in prison, was described by the Judge Peter Blair QC as "an arrogant, boastful, 31-year-old who appears to think he was untouchable". The court heard he had 14 previous convictions for theft. (Source bbc.com)

Kroger /Fred Meyer Investigators teams up with the Richland Police and Tri-City Metro Task Force bringing down an International ORC ring  A Pasco man pleaded innocent Tuesday to charges he has been fencing stolen goods for years to resell in a Mexico store. Fernando Cano allegedly placed large orders with people for merchandise -- like Levi's 501 jeans, boots, yard tools and gift cards -- and paid substantially less than the retail value during exchanges in the alley behind his home. Cano's arrest in June came after a two-month investigation by the Richland, WA police Street Crimes Unit and Tri-City Metro Drug Task Force into an area retail theft ring. A search of his home and an outdoor shed turned up dozens of pairs of jeans, money orders and shipping receipts to Mexico, a ledger detailing transactions and $42,000 cash. On April 23, Richland Police Officer Jeff Bickford met with another confidential informant who admitted stealing and subsequently selling an estimated 150 to 200 pairs of men's Levi's to Cano, along with weed whackers, tools and chainsaws. The informant reported receiving $13 to $14 per pair, adding that Cano only buys the jeans in quantities of 10 or more. Richland police contacted Kroger, the parent company of Fred Meyer, and arranged to get property to sell while undercover. The store in late May provided officers with 20 pairs of jeans inside a tote bin for a total value of almost $1,000. The plastic security tags were removed from the jeans but the store tags remained intact, which officers then marked with an ultraviolet pen to help identify if the merchandise was later recovered. (Source tri-cityherald.com)

Four Minnesota men charged with stealing from stores under fake names
Four people from Minnesota are arrested after being accused of creating in-store credit accounts at multiple stores in Eau Claire under fake names. The criminal complaint says Duy-Vu Truong Nguyen, Dat Quoc Ly, Nam Xuan Ngo, and Vinh Xuan Ngo came to Eau Claire from Minnesota and took out credit cards in Menards, Best Buy, and a few other stores in the city. In total, it says the group charged nearly $6,000 to the accounts. (Source weau.com)

Jefferson County, CO Grand Jury indicts 9 in ID theft ring
Nine people have been indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury as suspects in an identity theft ring. The 165-count indictment centers on five women and four men who allegedly used ill-gotten gains to buy methamphetamine and other illegal drugs, according to a Jefferson County District Attorney's Office news release. Members of the alleged ring would steal personal and financial information of people and businesses and use it to create fraudulent checks and identifications, including bogus driver's licenses and state ID cards. The ring would used fraudulent checks to obtain cash, merchandise, personal property, services, gift cards, food and other items. Investigators suspect some of the stolen personal and financial information was taken from mailboxes and cars. Angela Vigil and Sean Wyles are suspected of being the ringleaders and are charged with numerous counts, including racketeering and Violation of Colorado's Organized Crime Control Act. (Source denverpost.com)


Surveillance photos show iPad theft suspects at Walmart in Mansfield, Ohio  Mansfield police are looking for suspects in the thefts of iPads and other merchandise from Wal-Mart on Possum Run Road last week. Police are looking for a man and three women, said Mansfield police Lt. Doug Noblet of the Major Crimes Bureau. The suspects pried open display cases to steal 15 iPads, a laptop computer and a backpack worth a combined $6,000, on the night of July 1. (Source mansfieldnewsjournal.com)


Verizon Store Burglary thwarted by tracking device in Michigan
Seven men, five of them from Michigan, were arrested Saturday after their suspected burglary of a Verizon Wireless store was foiled by a tracking device in one of the stolen phones. At 3:28 a.m., officers Bradley Thompson, Scott Carl, Kevin Black and Daniel Poole responded to the Verizon Wireless store at 191 Newnan Crossing Bypass to check on a burglary alarm with multiple activations. According to Thompson, when officers arrived, they saw a back door had been propped open with a chair, and when they entered the store, they found merchandise scattered all over the floor. (Source times-herald.com)

Columbus, OH woman facing felony theft charges attempting to steal thousands from Sears  A Columbus woman is in jail on a felony theft charge after she was accused of trying to steal more than $1,000 worth of merchandise at a local store. Lesley D. Scaggs, 26, was arrested about 5 p.m. Monday at the Chillicothe Mall Sears store. Sears Loss Prevention saw Scaggs and an unidentified man on video placing items — including drills, drill bits, clothing and a watch — into two shopping carts. The pair took the carts to the fitting rooms, into which Scaggs went with an apparently empty handbag. (Source chillicothegazette.com)


Four Arrested in Connection to Glenpool, OK Theft Ring  Agencies were on scene serving a high-risk search warrant shortly after 4 a.m. this morning at 166th Street South and Highway 75 in Glenpool when a fire broke out. Authorities reportedly deployed tear gas, and are not sure if the tear gas started the fire or if the suspects started it. The warrant was connected to a "very large" theft ring, said Oklahoma Highway Patrol spokesperson George Brown. Three adults and one juvenile were arrested in connection to the incident. (Source ktul.com)

Scottsdale Community College football player arrested on ORC charges at Sports Authority in Tempe

ORC trio hits Sandy Springs, Ga., CVS for $2,000 in personal care products

Man gets probation in Glendale, AZ Mall theft case