A Connecticut couple is accused of running an elaborate theft ring at Lululemon stores in multiple states, stealing nearly a million dollars from the company. Jadion Anthony Richards and Akwele Nickeisha Lawes-Richards are both charged with organized retail theft under a Minnesota law signed by Gov. Tim Walz only last year.
The case comes as retailers say the tide is gradually turning on what had been described as an epidemic of shoplifting.
Richards, Lawes-Richards and a third unidentified person worked together at Lululemon stores in Roseville and Woodbury, Minnesota, to walk away with thousands of dollars in merchandise, according to the criminal complaint.
Police say more than $50,000 in Lululemon goods were found in suitcases left behind in the suspects’ hotel room in Bloomington.
“The total loss to Lululemon with Richards, Lawes-Richards and their group (the company) identified so far is closer to $1,000,000,” court documents say.
Investigators say Richards would make a small purchase, get a receipt, and then return to the sales floor, meeting up with Lawes-Richards and the other accomplice, who entered separately. Richards and Lawes-Richards would then remove a sensor from an item on the sales floor and put it onto an item Richards had just purchased.
They would then allegedly stuff thousands of dollars in Lululemon merchandise into Lawes-Richards’ clothing, then all leave together. When the store’s theft alarm would beep, the complaint says, Richards pretended to believe he had set off the alarm: While staff inspected his purchased item and removed the sensor the alleged thieves placed on it, the two accomplices walked out of the store with the stolen goods. Lululemon employees didn’t stop them, believing Richards’ purchased items had set the sensors off.
Richards was released last week on $100,000 bond. Lawes-Richards is free on $30,000 bond. Both were ordered to appear in court on December 16.
Both suspects face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, a $35,000 fine, or both, if convicted, according to the charging documents.
Richards and Lawes-Richards were both assigned public defenders. Requests for comment from CNN to their attorneys were not immediately returned Monday. The criminal complaint says both denied committing any theft when first confronted by police. They have not entered pleas.
Suspects monitored by company for months
The police were assisted by “an organized retail crime investigator for Lululemon,” court documents say, indicating the company had been following the couple for months across stores in Minnesota, Colorado and Utah. The company told investigators they would cash in after returning to Connecticut and New York, allegedly using a series of complicated exchanges at Lululemon stores to get cash for stolen merchandise.
“We are deeply committed to creating a safe and secure environment for our people and guests,” Lululemon asset protection vice president Tristen Shields said in a statement. “This outcome continues to underscore our ongoing collaboration with law enforcement and our investments in advanced technology, team training and investigative capabilities to combat retail crime and hold offenders accountable.”
High-profile cases of retail theft in recent years have prompted both lawmakers to crack down with tougher penalties and retailers to ramp up their efforts to investigate thefts on their own. In May, CNN reported a Home Depot theft ring was discovered with the help of a monthslong investigation by the corporation’s internal security force, ending in a SWAT raid on a home where $150,000 in stolen goods were found.
The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office says this is the first case they are prosecuting under Minnesota’s new organized retail theft law, according to a statement provided to CNN affiliate KARE.
“We will do everything in our power to hold these defendants accountable and continue to work with our law enforcement partners and retail merchants to put a stop to retail theft in our community,” the county attorney’s office said.
