"SAN JOSE - South Bay law enforcement officials announced they have arrested a half-dozen people and recovered more than $1 million in merchandise stolen from major regional retailers, including Home Depot and Target, as part of an organized theft outfit that trafficked the goods online. In addition to finding houses in the area filled to the brim with pilfered items including power tools and various housewares, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office and District Attorney's Office say they uncovered an accompanying phone and internet scam"
"An investigation launched in June reportedly determined that the stolen goods were sold online. The group also allegedly bolstered its inventory through a well-known scam in which they would coerce victims, usually elderly people, into paying fake debts or obligations by purchasing gift cards at the targeted retailers and transmitting the card information. Investigators say that was parlayed into daily hauls of upward of $10,000 in fraudulently obtained merchandise that added to the illicit stockpile."
"The confiscation of suspected stolen goods occurred Tuesday when the sheriff's High Impact Team served five search warrants at homes, storage units and a warehouse spanning San Jose and Campbell, the sheriff's office said in a news release Thursday. Five South Bay men and a man from Southern California were arrested in connection with an alleged theft operation that methodically shoplifted and stole items from Home Depot, Target, Lowe's and Sprouts and pooled the contraband at the buildings that were searched this week."
Law enforcement arrested six men and recovered more than $1 million in merchandise taken from Home Depot, Target, Lowe's and Sprouts. Search warrants served at homes, storage units and a warehouse in San Jose and Campbell revealed collection, storage and distribution centers for the stolen goods. Investigators say the group sold the merchandise online and used a phone-and-internet gift-card scam to coerce typically elderly victims into paying bogus debts by buying cards and transmitting the information. Authorities reported daily hauls as high as $10,000 and described homes filled with truckloads of pilfered items.
Read at The Mercury News
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