Telephone Imposter Steals $400,000 of Luxury Goods Gets 2 to 6 yrs prison
Diverting & Stealing Shipments of Clothes, Shoes, Watches, and Other Goods
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the sentencing of LAKISHA PETTUS, 41, to 2-to-6 years in prison for stealing designer merchandise valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars by diverting shipments of luxury goods to and from warehouses and stores. On July 20, 2016, the defendant pleaded guilty in a New York State Supreme Court to two counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, and Criminal Impersonation in the Second Degree.

As admitted in the defendant's guilty plea, between June and November 2015, PETTUS placed more than 200 calls to a shipping company whose services were used by multiple luxury goods companies, and falsely claimed to be an employee of the luxury goods companies. The defendant typically placed the calls after hours and at times when inquiries were generally handled by overseas customer service centers. While impersonating an employee, PETTUS typically claimed that there were issues with a particular shipment - such as a manifest error, a problematic loading dock, or storefront construction - and requested that the affected packages be held until a third-party courier was able to pick up and reship the merchandise to various drop locations in the San Francisco area. PETTUS would then intercept and acquire the merchandise.

Over the course of four months, PETTUS - using more than a dozen aliases and ten different cell phone numbers - diverted and stole dozens of shipments of high-end clothing, shoes, accessories, watches, and other goods valued at more than $400,000 using variations of this scheme. Among other items, the defendant stole Roberto Coin jewelry; dozens of Chanel suits, shoes, watches, wallets, and handbags; and two Patek Phillipe watches - each valued at more than $20,000.

"This scheme demonstrates the ease with which cybercriminals can scam, cheat, and disrupt commerce for their own financial gain," Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance said. "Hiding behind smartphones, personal computers, and aliases, Lakisha Pettus deceived customer service representatives, orchestrated fraudulent shipments.  manhattanda.org


Woman caught on camera allegedly stealing $3,000 worth of clothing
A video has gone viral with more than 100,000 views on Facebook of a woman allegedly stealing an armful of clothing. According to Little Rock police, the woman in the pink dress is Erica Jordan. In the video Jordan is seen carrying $3,000 worth of clothing from the Victoria's Secret in the Promenade at Chenal. katv.com



Chickasha, OK: CVS Pharmacy Tech steals $6,000 of Buprenorphine; steals Alprazolam to calm her nerves over thefts
Chickasha police said they began their investigation after the pharmacy reported a shortage of 3,300 tablets of a drug called Buprenorphine, which experts said is a narcotic. Chantel Carroll had been working at CVS as a pharmacy technician for eight years.

Carroll was confronted by a manager, she said she had been stealing the drugs. She went on to say she had been changing the quantity of Buprenorphine when she ordered more over the last year. She allegedly sold them to someone for $300 per bottle. Carroll also admitted to stealing 100 Alprazolam pills for her own consumption "to calm her nerves due to the situation." news9.com

Waxahachie, TX: Seven arrested in Shooter's Edge Smash & Grab, charged with Organized Criminal Activity
The number of arrests in connection with the Waxahachie gun store burglary last month has grown to seven. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and a Waxahachie detective tracked 17-year-old Quvjonzeo McCoy to Sacramento and arrested him. He's facing charges of engaging in organized criminal activity and theft of a firearm. On July 10, a group of teens were caught on video ramming a pickup truck into Shooter's Edge gun store. The newspaper reported that 17 guns were taken but only three handguns have been recovered so far. star-telegram.com

Lexington, KY: Well Organized group behind textbook thefts on Kentucky campuses
The University of Kentucky Police Department issued a crime bulletin for faculty, staff and student. UK Police received a report of a burglary that occurred some time between Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. Someone pried open locked doors at more than a dozen offices in the College of Nursing and stole textbooks. At this point, police are not sure exactly how many textbooks were stolen.

UK Police Chief Joe Monroe believes this theft could be related to textbook thefts on campus that happened in June and July. He says they are also looking at similar crimes at other universities, including Eastern Kentucky University. Chief Monroe says these crimes are more than likely being carried out by a "well organized group." He assumes the thieves are stealing the textbooks to sell for quick cash. wkyt.com

Chicago, IL: Las Vegas couple charged in connection with Apple Store thefts in 3 states
A man and woman were arrested over the weekend and charged with stealing from Apple stores in at least three states, including locations in Deer Park, Schaumburg and Oak Brook. Gregory J. Ganci, 50, and Jeri E. Duncan, 36, both of Las Vegas, were arrested Saturday after the Deer Park Apple Store. Two stolen Apple drones were found in the vehicle, and Duncan was also in possession of heroin. The two are believed to be connected to other Apple Store thefts in California and Nevada and were "known to police." chicagotribune.com

Lynnwood, WA: Five arrested in Kohl's Shoplifting; Police chase leads to three accidents
Edmonds and Lynnwood Police took five suspects into custody Monday afternoon after they abandoned a stolen car following a shoplifting incident at Kohl's. Police engaged in a pursuit for about four blocks, in that time the suspects were involved in 3 hit-and-run incidents, no one was seriously injured. myedmondsnews.com

Livingston County, MI: Ivan Ray Hooper Jr., 39, of Ypsilanti, pleaded guilty as charged to Organized Retail Crime
The prosecution agreed Hooper would receive a jail sentence rather than prison. He also agreed to pay nearly $2,000 in restitution. livingstondaily.com

Fraud Gang of four busted hitting Hannaford store in Albany, N.Y., with 30 counterfeit cc's