California Law Enforcement and DAs Take On Retail, Cargo Thieves

Yahoo

30-04-2025

California is stepping up its game to head off perpetrators of organized retail theft and cargo theft, whose schemes are becoming increasingly sophisticated and brazen.
Attorney General Rob Bonta announced last week that his office had filed felony charges against three individuals involved in a suspected 'identity theft mill,' wherein stolen identities were used to perpetrate retail crimes. According to Bonta's office, the suspects applied for store credit cards using stolen information from victims and then used the credit cards to purchase mass amounts of merchandise.
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The scheme, which spanned seven counties including Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties from March through July of 2023, saw the defendants fraudulently purchase over $100,000-worth of products from both high-end retailers and Harbor Freight, a tool and equipment store that serves the California market.
Law enforcement agencies were tipped off by a corporate fraud investor from Signet Jewelers, which led the California Department of Justice (DOJ), along with Homeland Security Investigations, Santa Maria Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, California Highway Patrol and Westminster Police department, to take action.
The investigation concluded in a 34-felony complaint filed against the three individuals by DOJ, with charges including organized retail theft, grand theft, and identity theft (with 13 people victimized by the credit card scheme).
'This was not a one-off shoplifting offense, it was a malicious, coordinated scheme,' Bonta said, thanking Signet Jewelers for collaborating with local and state law enforcement to root out the perpetrators. 'We will not give up until we put a stop to this criminal activity all together,' he added.
'The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is deeply committed to tackling organized retail crime through strategic multiagency collaboration, intelligence sharing, and targeted enforcement,' said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Detective Division Chief Joe Mendoza. 'By working closely with our local, state, and federal partners, we continue to strengthen our efforts, disrupt criminal networks, protect both businesses and our communities, while holding individuals accountable.'
Thieves of all kinds are growing more emboldened, according to GearTrack's April Cargo Security Index, which showed that 54 percent of cargo theft in the U.S. took place in California, Florida and Texas during the month of March.
The Golden State saw a whopping 34-percent increase in cargo theft incidents month over month, while Texas and Florida saw increased rates of 17 percent compared to February. GearTrack works with Verisk's CargoNet, a cargo theft recovery network, to track these trends each month.
Notably, the top targeted goods included food and beverages, along with household goods, indicating that people across the country are becoming increasingly anxious about being able to afford necessities. In fact, a standout case from the group's research involved the attempted theft of $55,000-worth of beef cargo in Philadelphia, Pa.
'The surge in theft is attributed to rising economic pressures, tariff uncertainty, increased shipment volumes, and the growing sophistication of criminal networks,' Ilan Gluck, general manager of GearTrack, explained.
'Organized theft groups are developing new, innovative schemes—from non-delivery of loads to following freight trains along delivery routes—and even forging documents for fraudulent pick-ups,' he added. 'Shippers needing to transport food and beverage, apparel and accessories, household goods, metals, and vehicles or auto parts should increase focus on route planning to ensure the safe, timely delivery of valuable goods.'
California Governor Gavin Newsom said that combatting organized retail theft and cargo theft are both major priorities for his office—as is prosecuting these crimes to the fullest extent of the law.
Last week, the governor's office announced that California has generated 14,133 referrals for prosecution during the first year of the state's organized retail theft and vertical prosecution grants, which were a part of the $267-million retail theft law enforcement grant program announced in 2023.
Of the cases referred for prosecution, 10,932 were for organized retail theft, while 40 were for cargo theft. The issue is becoming more serious as economic pressures ratchet up; last week, the Los Angeles Police Department's Cargo Theft Unit (CTU) recovered nearly $4 million in stolen cargo.
Of the 1,150 individuals that were ultimately convicted of theft-related property crimes since the start of the grant program, 373 were related to organized retail theft, and 88 percent of those convictions were felonies.
'As we continue investing in public safety, we keep seeing strong, positive results—more officers, more crime deterrents and more case prosecutions,' Newsom said last week. 'Our commitment to our neighborhoods is paying off.'
California's organized retail theft grant program encompasses both crime prevention and vertical prosecution; 38 law enforcement agencies were provided with $242 million of the funding to invest into new equipment, hiring more officers, technology and enhancing enforcement operations including partnerships with local retail. Meanwhile, the $24 million vertical prosecution grants were disseminated to 13 district attorneys' offices, allowing them to dedicate attorneys to focus on specific cases from beginning to end, giving law enforcement—and victims—a single point of contact and generally streamlining the prosecution process.
'The ORT Grant has led to phenomenal results in Fresno. We have been able to build relationships and trust with our retailers, and work closely with our partner law enforcement agencies—we are now sharing intelligence across the entire Central Valley,' said Fresno Police Department Deputy Chief Michael Landon. Fresno police have recovered $1.2 million in stolen property, $400,000 of which was seized, since the grant was enacted. The funding has helped the department put in place new processes and tools to drive down auto theft by 38 percent, like license plate reader equipment.
There have also been many notable retail theft cases that have been solved during the grant's first year; in nearby San Francisco, the SFPD arrested eight people suspected of participating in 23 organized retail theft incidents at local Walgreens stores, leading to the pilfering of $84,000-worth of merchandise, the governor's office said.
SoCal law enforcement agencies announced one of the biggest organized retail theft busts on record in March—a sting operation that recovered $4 million in goods from stores like Target, Nordstrom, Macy's and TJ Maxx. Those goods were stolen as part of a sophisticated fencing operation, and they were ultimately returned to the retailers.
Throughout these investigations, it's critical that local prosecutors are involved, according to Sonoma County Chief Deputy District Attorney Scott Jamar. 'The Vertical Prosecution Grant has been a catalyst for enhancing communication and empowering our community, from retailers to law enforcement,' he said. 'It has allowed us to concentrate our efforts using technologically assisted analytics to identify suspects, often in real-time, and build prosecutable cases.'
Jamar's office gave the example of working with multiple retailers in collaboration with the Santa Rosa Police Department to build a case against multiple retail theft suspects who allegedly stole $16,000 worth of jewelry over the course of about a week. Now, the county does monthly 'blitz' operations of a similar nature.
Multiple California counties have used the funding in creative ways to strengthen prosecutions and collaboration with local communities. The Yolo County District Attorney's Office launched a retailer reporting program that it said dramatically expedites investigations and prosecutions by sending the information directly to district attorneys. Dubbed 'FastPass to Prosecution,' the program debuted in fall 2023 and has upped the rate of successful prosecution of organized retail theft crimes.
In Stanislaus County, the district attorney's office created a public education strategy surrounding organized retail crime and established a single point of contact for retailers and law enforcement agencies. Bi-weekly meetings are also held between the stakeholders. The strategy has led to increased arrests for theft, with certain retailers in the Northern California county reporting 90 percent reductions in losses.
In addition bolstering prosecution and prevention, the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC), which was tasked with carrying out the grants, established an online dashboard that tracks data for both programs.
Insights show that violent crimes and property crimes decreased last year, by 4.6 percent and 8.5 percent respectively, according to analysis of the Real Time Crime Index data by the Public Policy Institute of California. Burglary also fell 13.6 percent, while larceny decreased by 18.6 percent, from a pre-pandemic baseline.