Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. is getting tough on the retail crime epidemic.
Bragg said on Wednesday that his office worked with a group of retailers that included Macy’s to bust an organized theft ring that allegedly resold more than $1 million in stolen goods. In addition to Macy’s, other retailers that cooperated in the long-term probe included Ulta Beauty, CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid.
The proactive fencing investigation is part of several strategies Bragg’s office is using to combat retail theft. In 2022, the Manhattan D.A.’s office created the Manhattan Small Business Alliance to reduce shoplifting and commercial robberies. The Alliance works in partnership with small business leaders in Manhattan, and is focused on holding recidivists—offenders who engage in repeated criminal behavior—accountable, developing proactive investigations, and improving coordination with the New York Police Department.
“Retail theft is a scourge that impacts our local businesses and jeopardizes the safety of employees and customers alike. We must use every tool in our toolbox to address the root causes of retail theft, and a critical piece of that is upstream, proactive investigations into those who stand to profit,” Bragg said. “In addition to disrupting fencing networks, we will continue to target the small number of recidivists who are driving a significant amount of retail theft and ensure appropriate accountability.”
Bragg said Bibi Rehana Khan, 54, and Aaron Khan, 40, and Rehana’s Cosmetics Inc. were indicted for possessing more than $1 million in stolen goods as part of a retail theft fencing operation. The defendants were charged in a N.Y.S. Supreme Court indictment with one count each of criminal possession of stolen property in the first degree, criminal possession of stolen property in the second degree and criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree.
Although Rehana’s Cosmetics operated a perfume and cosmetics store that operated online and at 870 6th Ave. in Manhattan, stolen property from shoplifters included items not typically sold in perfume and cosmetics stores. Bragg, who said the store was a well-known destination for shoplifters to bring in stolen goods, alleged that the operation gave shoplifters a motive to steal and that the defendants were drivers of crime.
“They were doing this to make money. It is the motive as old as time,” Bragg said at a press conference.
Bragg’s office executed search warrants this past January on the business and at two of its storage units. In addition to cosmetics and over-the-counter medications, investigators also recovered apparel, designer handbags, backpacks, toys, kitchenware and household appliances, among other items. The amount of stolen property seized filled 450 medium cardboard boxes. According to Bragg’s office, $212,00 worth of the stolen property was from Macy’s alone. The rest of the stolen items were from CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Duane Reade, Ulta Beauty, Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, and the NHL Store.
“We appreciate the work of law enforcement and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and defer any comments about the case to them,” a Macy’s spokesperson said.
Retail crime has become a big problem over the last few years. Smash-and-grabs began targeting luxury retailers back in 2022, and the crime wave has continued. Last year, a $20 million organized retail crime ring was busted in Florida, which had targeted more than 20 retailers including Walmart, Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Costco, among others. And earlier this month, law enforcement in California‘s San Mateo County disclosed a multi-jurisdictional operation that led to the arrest of 88 suspects tied to a string of retail crimes in the state.
The new norm now at many stores is the placement of items behind plexiglass that require a store associate to unlock the display cover. Retailers have also shuttered stores in high-crime areas. Walmart in March 2023 closed all its stores in Portland, Ore. due to crime, and its exit from the city resulted in the loss of 600 area jobs. The mass discounter also came up with a novel solution to retail’s $100 billion-plus crime-fueled epidemic when it agreed to reopen a closed location in Georgia by including an Atlanta Police Department substation within the store’s four walls. And Target last September said it was closing nine stores in New York City, Seattle, Portland, Ore. and the San Francisco Bay Area amid a retail crime surge.
The National Retail Federation, a retail trade group, said there’s been a dramatic increase across the nation involving large-scale, targeted thefts using coordinated and planned attacks on retailers. And the NRF has noted that organized retail theft is one area where retailers are seeing higher levels of violence. The trade group successfully advocated for the bipartisan INFORM Consumers Act, which was signed into law on Dec. 29, 2022, as part of an omnibus spending package to help bring transparency to online marketplaces by requiring verification of the identities of high-volume third-party sellers. The hope is that the requirement would help curb the fencing of stolen merchandise.
States law enforcement agencies are doing their part too. Last August saw the emergency launch of the L.A. Organized Retail Crime Task Force initiated by Mayor Karen Bass, while California governor Gavin Newson instructed California Highway Patrol to triple its retail crime-fighting resources in response to an uptick in theft. Newson also pledged $267 million in immediate funding statewide to 55 local law enforcement agencies and their organized retail crime-fighting units. And lawmakers in California, New York and Virginia are eyeing legislation that would introduce harsher penalties for retail crime, as well as action to protect store associates.
