NY Indicts 41 in Alleged Shoplifting Ring That Resold on eBay

New York authorities are saying they’ve taken down an organized shopping ring that was stealing high-end items and reaping “millions of dollars,” Financial Times reported Thursday (May 26).

The thefts were “contributing to an atmosphere of lawlessness that has unsettled the city.”

There were 41 people indicted on criminal charges varying from possession of stolen property and money laundering, Mayor Eric Adams said. That came after a three-year investigation.

The alleged ringleader was Roni Rubinov, owner of the New Liberty Loans Pawn Shop, who is accused of leading a group of employees in buying stolen goods from 30 lower-level thieves who targeted department stores like Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus, along with drug chains like Duane Reade.

The report says Rubinov allegedly paid as little as 6% to 8% of the retail price for high-end clothing, reselling them through an eBay store, Treasure-Deals-USA. From this scheme, they got over $3.8 million, authorities alleged.

There were also 550 stolen gift cards and $300,000 in cash seized by authorities, the report said.

Financial crime has been on the rise during the pandemic. At the beginning of it in 2020, people were rapidly having to move to new digital ways of living because of COVID-19, and fraudsters took advantage of it.

See also: Digital Main Street, Mastercard to Help SMBs Fight Cybercrime

With that, there have been more companies reacting to it, such as Digital Main Street and Mastercard expanding their efforts to fight cybercrime.

The companies, according to PYMNTS, are looking at expanding resources, adding more education programs and boosting cybersecurity awareness for smaller businesses, as well as adding tools to help small businesses look into how ready they are for cyberattacks.

John Kiru, executive director of the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) and founder of Digital Main Street, said the new partnership would help the company add to its goals of giving more resources for businesses.