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 Volusia
Co, FL: 'Operation Plastic Paradise'; $2M flowed through illegal gift
card-for-cash ring, 23 suspects charged
Roughly $2 million in a year flowed through an illegal cash-for-gift-card ring
dismantled in Volusia County, leading to charges against 23 people, officials
announced Monday. Members of the ring shoplifted a wide range of items -
everything from sports bras to plumbing fixtures - from big-box stores and then
returned the items in exchange for store credit on gift cards, investigators
said. The shoplifters then sold the cards for roughly half the value at two Cash
For Gift Card businesses, one in Deltona and the other in Daytona Beach,
officials said. The stores would then resell them in bulk to online companies,
investigators said. "This is an attack on every consumer," Florida Attorney
General Pam Bondi said in a statement. Bondi joined Volusia County Sheriff Ben
Johnson on Monday to reveal details of the seven-month operation dubbed
Operation Plastic Paradise. Eighteen people were arrested, including owners of
the business, father-son duo Dale Holcombe, 52, and James Holcombe, 27. Four of
their employees were arrested. The other 12 suspects shoplifted the items,
targeting such stores as Lowe's Home Improvement, Target, Walmart, The Home
Depot or Toys R Us, investigators allege. The shoplifters even recruited
homeless people into their operation by coercing them to steal items from the
store and then return them, according to Sheriff's Office spokesman Gary
Davidson. In the first eight months of this year, the Cash For Gift Card stores
bought 16,870 cards, Davidson said.
wftv.com
 Lewisville,
TX: Multiple suspects rob Lewisville Kohl's of more than $100,000 in jewelry
Police said multiple suspects robbed a local store around 3 a.m. Friday.
According to police, two suspects broke into Kohl's located at 1001 Valley Ridge
Blvd and stole approximately $140,000 of jewelry. It appears that the suspect's
primary target was high-end watches, gold and sterling silver necklaces. After
entering the store, the suspect in the grey sweater shattered several glass
display cases while the second suspect stood at the front watching for police.
As the suspects were exiting the business, they placed the bags of stolen
jewelry on the stores wheelchair and left the location. At this time, there is
no vehicle description. Kohl's loss prevention team said this is the fifth
incident in the Metroplex involving one of their stores being broken into and
jewelry being stolen.
starlocalmedia.com
 Portland,
OR: Police say 6 arrested in multi-state theft ring; $26,000 in gift cards
Authorities say they have arrested six Seattle-area suspects in what they are
calling a theft ring that victimized 110 people across seven states. The
Oregonian reports five adults and a 15-year-old girl were arrested Nov. 29. They
all face several charges, including organized retail left and fraudulent use of
a credit card. Police say the suspects were arrested in West Linn after reports
that six people were using stolen credit cards to purchase more than $11,000 in
Apple gift cards. Authorities stopped an SUV carrying the suspects along
Interstate 205. The suspects are accused of buying more than $26,000 in gift
cards in the stolen credit card scheme. The credit card numbers were linked to
victims in Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, New Jersey, Texas, Colorado and
Wisconsin.
kptv.com
 Natick,
MA: $2,000 in Stolen Merchandise, Rental Car, Leads to NY Trio's Arrest
Three from New York are facing theft charges after the group was stopped in a
stolen rental car, allegedly after stealing $2,000 worth of merchandise from
Natick stores. Karina Porras, JeanPierre Tobon and Nolan Lopez, all from New
York, were arrested and charged with receiving stolen property. The trio was
stopped Saturday around 5 p.m. in Natick with the merchandise in their car, none
of which they would claim. The three remained detained at the Natick police
station until they were brought to court on Monday morning. While it is not
clear if the three are part of any organized retail crime, Natick police did say
that similar crimes are increasingly popular in Massachusetts, particularly
Natick.
patch.com
2 women arrested for shoplifting $1,427 worth of merchandise
from Annapolis Mall
Police arrested two women suspected of shoplifting $1,427.23 worth of
merchandise at the Annapolis Mall Saturday. On Dec. 12 at approximately 2:43
p.m., police responded to the mall for reports of a shoplifting in progress. The
suspects, 22-year-old Diasiah Chapman and 21-year-old Daysaja Nickleson,
attempted to leave a retail store with merchandise and flee the scene in their
vehicle, when a nearby citizen observed what was happening and blocked the
suspects from leaving with their car. Police say the suspects rammed the other
vehicle and then attempted to pull the driver from car. The suspects then fled
the scene on foot. Patrol officers then found Chapman and Nickleson hiding in a
nearby parking lot and took them into custody. Chapman was charged with second
degree assault, attempted carjacking and theft. Nickleson was charged with first
and second degree assault, reckless endangerment, theft and conspiracy to
carjack.
wjla.com
 North
Miami Beach tackles
evolving economic crimes
The police department in North Miami Beach announced the creation of two new
units-a gang unit and an economic crime unit. Both will work in conjunction with
gangs and street crimes. "We're finding that the gangs these days are a lot more
sophisticated," police Capt. Richard Rand said. "In order to generate revenue
for their enterprise, they steal people's identity. They steal people's Social
Security numbers. They take credit card numbers, clone the numbers, or install
skimmers at gas stations at ATMs."
miamiherald.com
 This new resource will provide both
current ORC cases and legislative actions throughout the U.S. and
will be highlighting industry leaders, teams, and efforts that are
making a difference. Designed to provide research capabilities, this
resource will dive deep into the details, the surveys, the laws, and
the people who are helping to fight this growing epidemic. Open to
input and wanting to make it as interactive as possible, we invite
all LP executives and law enforcement to get involved and help build
this ORC Resource Center. Check it out at
www.orcinfo.com!
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