8 charged with conspiracy in retail theft ring targeting Apple stores throughout California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KABC) — Eight people have been arrested and charged with conspiracy in connection with an organized retail theft ring that primarily targeted Apple stores throughout California, the CHP and state attorney general announced Thursday.

The thefts amounted to a loss of about $1 million, the attorney general’s office said in a statement. The alleged crime occurred between August 2022 and January 2023 “and involves an organized criminal scheme in which suspects would enter stores and hold back employees and customers while stealing retail items, including thousands of dollars of phones and tablets from each location,” the news release said.

“Organized retail theft costs businesses, retailers, and consumers – and puts the public at risk,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Brazen criminal activity, such as the organized retail theft operation we have taken down today, will not be tolerated in California.”

The alleged crimes occurred in the counties of Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, Riverside, Yolo, Monterey, Alameda, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Marin and San Francisco, prosecutors said.

The suspects face multiple counts of felony charges brought by the California Department of Justice, including 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 a 2020 national survey, U.S. retailers lose approximately $700,000 per every $1 billion in sales to organized retail crime.