Authorities bust alleged professional shoplifting ring
An alert Hermitage, Pennsylvania, patrolman helped catch members of an alleged professional shoplifting ring wanted in connection with cases on the East Coast and in the Midwest, police said. Police Chief Eric Jewell said Patrolman John Kudelko and the Hermitage Walmart loss prevention team nabbed the crew Monday. Kudelko heard a call from Walmart LP describing a shoplifting incident that had just happened, Jewell said. Store LP said that it was the same crew who allegedly stole 41 home security systems worth $11,000 from the store in September, he said. Walmart LP associates said a man and woman had just left the store in a Lexus and were traveling north. Kudelko, on traffic duty in Clark, spotted the car and pulled it over, Jewell said. Greg A. Lestingi, 47, and Sheena J. Snow, 31, both of Tennessee, were arrested. Police found an open child-safety seat box in the back seat of the Lexus filled with $1,000 worth of electronic devices that allegedly came from Walmart, Jewell said.
Snow is wanted on a Tennessee parole violation for possession of dangerous drugs. She was arraigned in Farrell district court on charges of giving false identification to law enforcement and being a fugitive from justice. Lestini and Barry K. Dabney, 50, also of Tennessee, hold previous arrest warrants from Hermitage for the September theft, Jewell said. The two men got away in September, but Hermitage detectives had enough evidence to identify and charge the pair, Jewell said. Snow and Lestini will answer to charges in connection with the Monday burglary at the Hermitage store before they are extradited to other states for outstanding warrants. One of Lestini’s warrants is from Virginia for felony larceny and misdemeanor theft for allegedly pulling a knife on a Walmart loss prevention associate, according to court records.But Hermitage will have to wait to try Dabney, who is wanted on arrest warrants in several states up and down the East Coast and in the Midwest. He was caught in Tennessee, Jewell said. “We were told by Tennessee officials that numerous other states are in line before us, so we will have a long wait for him,” the chief said. Jewell said his officers are just beginning to investigate the case. After obtaining a search warrant for the Lexus, police also recovered counterfeit identification from it. “That’s indicative of professional shoplifters,” Jewell said. “They run and run, not concealing their faces. They eventually get caught.” [Source: The Herald]
Shoplifting suspect bites two LP associates
A woman trying to steal a case of beer at Walmart on Epps Bridge Road in Athens, Georgia, recently bit two loss prevention associates who attempted to thwart the theft. Both associates are fine, a spokesman for Walmart said Wednesday, but the woman’s identity has not been determined. The assault occurred when an associate confronted the woman as she was trying leave the store with a case of beer in a shopping cart, according to an Oconee County sheriff’s report. However, the suspect punched the employee in the face and the pair then ended up on the floor as they fought, deputies said.
A second employee ran over to help and he was bitten on the forearm, while the other employee was bitten on the thigh. The suspect then ran from the store. “The two associates were checked out and they are OK,” the Walmart spokesman said. Bites are considered a potentially dangerous assault, according to Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry. If officers are bitten, there is a procedure in place for them to be treated and evaluated, Berry said. ”That is serious business — biting people,” the sheriff said. “You can pass on all kinds of pathogens.” If the suspect is identified, Berry said officers would consult with the district attorney’s office on charges the assault and attempted theft would warrant. [Source: Athens Banner-Herald]
For first time, PD teams with loss prevention to catch shoplifters
Eight Anchorage, Alaska, police officers spent a day inside one of the city’s larger retail stores this month patrolling for shoplifters. Over eight hours on Dec. 1, police arrested six people at a Fred Meyer store on Abbott Road. Police say the six separately tried to steal more than $1,100 of merchandise in all. It was the first instance of Anchorage police teaming up with a retail store with the goal of catching shoplifters in action. The initiative reflected broad frustration among local retailers about what’s been characterized as a sharp rise in property crime in the past two years. Dozens of new officers have been hired in recent years, which allows police to dedicate more time to proactive policing, said Capt. Kevin Vandegriff, who leads the department’s crime suppression unit. But Vandegriff said police had also been hearing reports from private security groups around the city that thefts were coming more often with the threat of violence. Vandegriff didn’t have specific data to corroborate the claims, and research by the University of Alaska Anchorage has shown that the rates of larceny and violent crime have declined in Anchorage over the past 30 years. Research tied to Alaska’s criminal justice reform has shown that putting people in jail for short periods of time for shoplifting isn’t an effective deterrent, and some cities, like Juneau, are working on programs that target the deeper issues that might motivate theft, like addiction or mental illness. But some of the stories were frightening, Vandegriff said: People caught pushing carts of stolen goods out of stores had drawn guns or knives on employees. Major retailers employ individualss known as “loss prevention associates” to patrol stores or watch front entrances for shoplifting. If a person is caught shoplifting, those charges go directly to local and state prosecutors. If the accused thief threatens to use violence, store employees contact police, Vandegriff said. But it often takes a long time for an officer to show up, Vandegriff said. By then, suspects can be long gone. [Source: Anchorage Daily News]
eBay privacy breach exposes customer names on google
In what appears to be a major breach of customer privacy, eBay is exposing customers’ real first and last names, as well as the items they’ve purchased, publicly on Google. While the idea that your real name is exposed in a product review you left for a benign product like clothing or books is disturbing enough, Google is also displaying eBay customer names for sensitive purchases such as medical diagnostic tests – including pregnancy, drug, and HIV home testing kits. A reader who provided EcommerceBytes with the news tip told us, “As both an eBay seller as well as being a buyer who has left product reviews for item that I have purchased on eBay, this new revelation is very disturbing to me. Furthermore what really scared me is the fact that with very little effort on my part I was able to match the reviewers actual name with their anonymous eBay user ID, by opening both the eBay product page and the Google Shopping product page in separate windows and placing them side by side.” For every search we conducted, from cookbooks to medical test kits, all of the reviews on Google Shopping Product Pages that were provided by eBay.com displayed actual customer names and the date they left the review, while reviews from other online retailers, such as Target.com and Walmart.com displayed user IDs. It’s not likely that someone who purchased a medical diagnostic test on eBay name would be thrilled that their review might be read by family members, partners or employers. One buyer was clearly concerned about the privacy of his purchase, noting in his review of a test kit he’d purchased on eBay that he was pleased it had come in discrete packaging. It appears there is a flaw in the feed eBay provides to Google, and this not the first time that eBay has been accused of compromising users’ privacy. In 2014, NYU researchers discovered that they could aggregate eBay buyers’ purchases, and characterized it as a security breach – and that was when they had only the user names, not the actual names of buyers.
As part of the 2014 study, the researchers conducted a survey to gauge buyer expectations around privacy on the marketplace, they found nearly 39% preferred to make a sensitive or private purchase on eBay, “noting that they believed the site was a more discrete vendor than a physical store.” “Additionally, 38 percent of those surveyed believed that their purchase histories were visible to no one except them,” the NYU researchers wrote. We can’t overstate how troubling this breach of privacy is, and of all the developments that have caused users to be concerned about privacy over the years, this tops the list right next to eBay’s massive data breach of 2014 when it forced 145 million users to change their passwords. We reached out to eBay and Google prior to publishing, a Google spokesperson said he would look into the matter. eBay as not yet responded. [Source: eCommerceBytes]
Seven Romanian nationals plead guilty to racketeering conspiracy and ATM skimming
Seven Romanian nationals pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston in connection with an ATM skimming scheme operating throughout Massachusetts and other states including Connecticut, New York and South Carolina. Constantin Denis Hornea, 23; Maria Lazar, 19; Ludemis Hornea, 20; Claudiu Florea, 25; Denisa Bonculescu, 27; and Anamaria Margel, 23, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly known as RICO conspiracy, and conspiracy to use counterfeit access devices. Constantin Hornea, Lazar, and Ludemis Hornea also pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and money laundering conspiracy; Constantin and Ludemis Hornea also pleaded guilty to possession of device making equipment; and Florea also pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy. Ion Trifu, 25, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to use counterfeit access devices and money laundering conspiracy. U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for March 15, 2018. In May 2017, the defendants were indicted along with five others whose whereabouts remain unknown.
The defendants, except for Trifu, were members of the Hornea Crew (“Crew”), led by Constantin Denis Hornea and Ludemis Hornea, and engaged in ATM skimming – obtaining debit card numbers and PINs from unsuspecting bank customers, creating counterfeit cards, and making unauthorized withdrawals from the victims’ bank accounts. Over a period of 18 months, the Crew installed skimming devices and made unauthorized withdrawals in seven states, including Massachusetts. In particular, members of the Crew installed skimming devices in the following locations: Amherst, Bellingham, Billerica, Braintree, Chicopee, Quincy, Southwick, Waltham, Weymouth, and Whately, Mass.; Enfield, Conn.; Columbia, Greenville, Greenwood, Mauldin, and Saluda, S.C.; Savannah, Ga.; and Yadkinville, N.C. The Crew made unauthorized withdrawals at ATMs in approximately 29 Massachusetts towns; seven Connecticut towns; six New York towns; Salem, N.H.; and Sumter, S.C. Members of the Hornea Crew and Trifu transferred money throughout the United States and to Romania and the People’s Republic of China. Some of those transfers were for the purchase of skimming devices and related components from abroad. [Source: Department of Justice]
Woman cited after child attempts retail larceny
A woman in North Carolina, was cited for contributing to the delinquency of a minor and neglect Friday night after police say a 13-year-old girl attempted to steal from Walmart. Police cited Tamika Danielle Squire, 35, of Morganton, after arriving at Walmart on Morganton Heights Boulevard and reviewing security footage of the crime, according to an arrest report. The store’s loss prevention officer told Morganton Department of Public Safety Officer J.T. Dale that the girl removed barcodes from pieces of felt and put them on other items, the report said. Squire was not seen switching barcodes but was cited because of the girl’s actions. Dale told Squire that the arrest report would be sent to the Department of Juvenile Justice, which may petition the girl, the report said. The store’s loss prevention officer told MDPS that Squire previously admitted to knowing what the girl was doing. Squire said she made a mistake and was struggling to raise five other kids, according to the report. Dale told Squire he would complete a grand jury packet if video evidence showed she knew what the girl was doing, the report said. The items involved in the attempted larceny were not included in the report. [Source: The News-Herald]
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