The mastermind of an organized retail theft ring dubbed the “California Girls” that targeted high-end cosmetics firms Ulta Beauty and Sephora was fined $3 million and faces more than five years in prison when he is sentenced in January, according to court documents. .
Michelle Mack, 53, a married mother of three young daughters, was arrested with her husband, Kenneth, 60, in December at their 4,500-square-foot, $2.75 million mansion in Bonsall, outside San Diego, which has a vineyard and a chapel. that the couple rented out as a wedding venue on Airbnb, according to an NBC report.
According to prosecutors, law enforcement found more than $300,000 worth of stolen goods at their home — a fraction of the $8 million the pair stole since 2012.
The couple pleaded guilty last month and her husband was sentenced to five years and four months in San Diego County Superior Court on Thursday.
Michelle Mack’s sentencing was postponed until January. 9, 2025, when it may also take more than five years.
Mack cannot withdraw her guilty plea before her sentencing. She has been ordered not to go near any Ulta Beauty or Sephora stores and not to contact any co-defendants other than her husband, state officials said.
At least nine others were charged in the elaborate scheme.
Investigators referred to the ring as the “California Girls” after they hit hundreds of stores across the state — and 10 others — and resold the goods on Amazon through the “Online Makeup Store.”
Since the pandemic, organized retail theft has plagued businesses across the country, especially in California, where progressive laws jail only shoplifters who swipe more than $950 worth of merchandise.
Ulta Beauty CEO Dave Kimbell told CNBC earlier this year that the “financial impact is real” from organized retail theft.
The couple’s cheeky operation included a “mini-store” of beauty products, sunglasses and designer bags inside their garage, where they packaged the goods and shipped them to customers.
Their scam brought in $1.89 million in 2022, according to Amazon sales data provided to investigators, CNBC reported.
The page is closed.
In March, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed 140 felony charges against Michelle Mack and her husband, including conspiracy to commit organized retail theft, grand theft and receiving stolen property.
The Macks initially pleaded not guilty.
“This is a multi-million dollar criminal scheme. It was complex. It was orchestrated,” said Bonta announcing the charges. “We’re not talking about shoplifting of any kind.”
The crime ring was broken in part because of incriminating texts between the couple and their team of shoplifters.
“I will not steal regularly, I will start filling my bag quickly. So I want to know things I can grab in bulk too,” defender Kimora Lee Gooding texted Mack in January. 7, 2023.
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Image Source : nypost.com
