The shoplifting epidemic, which costs New York state retailers $4.4 billion a year, is creating a shadow resale economy from eBay to dealerships, The Post has learned.
In New York City alone, shoplifting cases increased by 64% from June 2019 to June 2023. According to the Criminal Justice Council.
In 2022, the total shop loss Gov. Kathy Hochul said in February that spending in the state was $4.4 billion.
And retailers and law enforcement officials told the Post that the need to sell stolen goods is creating an irregular underground economy.
Thieves and middlemen sell shoplifted goods on resale sites like eBay and Facebook Marketplace, or fill warehouse space in illegal pawn shops. A raid in Queens uncovered a space filled with items believed to have been stolen, as well as garbage bags filled with removed security tags.
They even “sell” fresh products like Haagen-Dazs ice cream directly to bodegas.
One scam involves shoplifting high-value items from a national chain, having them returned to another branch out of state to obtain credit, and then selling the credit notes outside the branch for cash.
At the most pernicious level, thieves are directed by Dickensian organizers with a “shopping list” telling them exactly what to aim for.
“They’re getting shopping lists for items like cell phones, power tools, handbags,” a law enforcement official who specializes in fraud told the Post.
“They are bringing in stolen goods. [illicit] We are a wholesaler in five boroughs. ”
The middleman buys the product for $1, “there is no underlying cost,” fraud experts say, and then sells the product.
“Booster crew members are receiving cash payments,” the official said.
“The dealer then sells it through their own network, in-store, or lists it online and sells it to consumers through Facebook Marketplace, depending on their preference.”
The law enforcement official added that, looking like a typical user of an online marketplace, Fence “sells one thing, lists the next thing, and does that all day long.” If not, maintain multiple identities online. ”
a Report by National Retail Federation and private security company K2 In April 2023, we found evidence of widespread use of Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, which allow users to list products directly.
The report examines a list of items commonly targeted by organized retail theft gangs, including tide pods, diapers, and items listed as “new with tags,” and found that New York They found that 26% of the respondents had the following characteristics. Organized retail crime. ”
Facebook Marketplace did not respond to a request for comment. An eBay spokesperson told the Post, “eBay is committed to providing a safe online shopping experience. We have zero tolerance for criminal activity.”
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said he had uncovered a much larger version of such an operation.
“We monitored the boosters and saw them delivering merchandise to EZ Cash Pawn & Jewelry in Brentwood,” Tierney said.
“Items believed to have been stolen locally were stored in a room behind the pawn shop. It looked like a hardware store warehouse.”
It was packed with items such as DeWalt power tools, a KitchenAid mixer, a Singer sewing machine, and a Ninja Foodie Delux pressure cooker. There were also building materials, designer clothes and wallets.
According to court documents, they were sold on eBay and another website, Tradesy, a now-defunct luxury goods marketplace.The owner was also found guilty.
As for how the thieves found the fences, Tierney said: “Our research shows that boosters know where to fence off stolen goods through word of mouth within the criminal community.”
Some fences operate their own stores, where stolen, counterfeit, and discontinued products are mixed in, creating an additional challenge for law enforcement.
“Cash registers and clothing racks will be installed. However, most of the clothes are stolen. Counterfeit products from legitimate companies and discontinued products are mixed in. This makes the situation even more difficult for us.” the official said.
Shoplifters also arrange to take advantage of return policies for profit.
“Home Depot has been trying to combat this problem for a long time,” said a law enforcement source. “The culprit will shoplift a power saw that sells for $600. He’s going to drive to Pennsylvania because people might be looking for him.
“Then someone with a fake driver’s license would return the license to a hardware store and receive a credit. I’ve seen it.
“And once Home Depot gets that license, we’ll switch.”
Some thieves sell credit slips for cash outside the store where they made the fraudulent return. “We’re going to sell $600 in Home Depot credit for $400 in cash,” the source said.
You may also return to the hardware store branch with the seller in case the staff asks for identification when using the credit slip. “They’ll say, ‘Now I’m so confident,'” the source said.
Suffolk County Attorney Tierney told the Post that interstate travel is also part of the pattern.
“In the 2022 arrest, when the group cleared $94,000 worth of wallets from a Balenciaga store in East Hampton, the defendant was wearing an ankle bracelet from a previous arrest in another jurisdiction.” he said.
In other cases law enforcement has worked on, Tierney said, “shoplifters would start in New Jersey, start driving, and basically shoplift to Suffolk County to deliver the merchandise.” Stated.
But in many cases, the illegal sales were more direct, and when the city’s supermarkets were hit, shoplifters turned back the stolen food without missing a beat.
“Shoplifters steal bacon and steak from us,” Victor Colello, director of meat and fish at Morton Williams Supermarkets in New York City, told the paper.
“A girl who worked for me told me about getting hair done in the Bronx. There was a guy there, taking orders from people and asking them what kind of food they wanted. Then he went to Morton Williams and tried to steal it.”
For other perishable items, the thief must turn them over immediately.
“Shoplifters steal all the Haagen-Dazs from supermarkets and take them to the nearest dealership four blocks away,” Gristedes and D’Agostino CEO John Catsimatidis told the Post.
“The shoplifters came with garbage bags, put 30 containers inside and left,” said Dominic Albergo, head of security for Catsimatidis.
“We then found them inside the bodega and told the bodega owner that if we saw them again, we would go to the precinct and lock them up.
“The good news is that at that point most dealers were concerned about purchasing stolen goods.”
