Eight suspects have been arrested for allegedly stealing about $1 million worth of merchandise primarily from Apple stores, state Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Feb. 9.
The alleged retail theft operation occurred between August 2022 and January 2023—in several counties across the state, including Yolo, Monterey, Alameda, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Riverside.
The suspects, according to the release, would allegedly barge into stores and detain employees and customers while they pilfered merchandise, “including numerous phones and tablets worth thousands of dollars from each location.”
“Organized retail theft costs businesses, retailers, and consumers – and puts the public at risk," Bonta said in a press release. “Brazen criminal activity … will not be tolerated in California. … With these charges, we’re moving forward to hold these defendants accountable.”
The suspects, who were not identified in the press release, face charges of conspiracy to commit retail theft, organized retail theft, grand theft, theft in the amount over $500,000, and an aggravated white-collar enhancement, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
The arrests were a result of the California Highway Patrol’s partnerships with multiple law enforcement agencies.
Retailers in California and across the U.S. have been facing an ongoing challenge from organized retail crime, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
A survey conducted by the National Retail Federation in 2020 revealed that U.S. retailers face an average loss of roughly $700,000 for every $1 billion in sales due to these criminal activities.
Retail Losses in the US: Nearly a $100 Billion Problem
According to the retail federation’s more recent report in September 2022, organized crime groups carry out retail theft for financial gain, focusing on items that fit the criteria of being concealable, removable, available, valuable, enjoyable, and disposable. The more of these characteristics an item possesses, the higher the likelihood it will be targeted for theft.
The report found that retail losses, known as “retail shrink,” due to theft, fraud, and other similar criminal activities rose to $94.5 billion in 2021, up from $90.8 billion the previous year nationwide.
The top categories of products most often targeted by these criminal groups include apparel, health and beauty products, electronics and appliances, accessories, food and beverage, footwear, home furnishings and housewares, home improvement items, eyewear, office supplies, infant care products, and toys.
The survey noted the top cities that experienced the highest rate of organized retail theft were Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, New York, Houston, and Miami.
“These highly sophisticated criminal rings jeopardize employee and customer safety and disrupt store operations. Retailers are bolstering security efforts to counteract these increasingly dangerous and aggressive criminal activities,” the federation’s Vice President for Research Development and Industry Analysis Mark Mathews said in a statement last year.
