An organized group pulled off more than 600 thefts at Home Depot stores across Southern California, stealing millions of dollars worth of electronics between January and August of this year, officials said.
Ventura County officials announced charges against nine key members of the group at a news conference on Tuesday, in what they described as the largest case of thefts at Home Depot nationwide.
Investigators arrested 14 people this month and have since seized more than $3.7 million in stolen goods and $800,000 of what they called “dirty money.”
Since January this year, the group carried out thefts at 71 Home Depot stores across Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, officials said, then resold the goods at lower prices both online and through offline businesses.
Home Depot estimated that the criminal group stole at least $10 million over several years, officials said.
“This wasn’t shoplifting. It was a criminal enterprise that allegedly stole millions of dollars, and it was finally stopped here,” said Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko.
Five of those charged were part of “booster crews” who stole electronics like dimmer switches, circuit breakers and outlets from Home Depot stores, sometimes multiple times in a day, officials said. The other four were “fences,” who received, stored and then resold the stolen goods.
The ringleader of the scheme, according to officials, was David Ahl, 59, from Los Angeles, who faces 45 charges including grand theft and money laundering. He directed the “booster crews” to steal the goods, which he would then resell through Arya Wholesale, the business he ran in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles, they said.
He was aided by his brother-in-law, Omid Abrishamkar, of Calabasas, who resold the stolen merchandise on eBay, officials said. Mr. Abrishamkar faces 11 felony counts, officials said.
Mr. Ahl’s ex-wife, Lorena Solis, and her partner, Enrique Neira Moreno, were also involved in reselling stolen goods, officials said. Photos released by the Ventura County District Attorney’s office showed a warehouse piled high with boxes and containers of what officials said were seized goods.
Members of the main “booster crew” included Jose Banuelos Guerrero of South Gate, Edwin Rivera of Los Angeles and Eber Bonilla Lopez of Pomona, officials said. They are accused of stealing products worth as much as $6,000 to $10,000 daily.
At the news conference, officials played surveillance footage that they said showed Mr. Bonilla Lopez filling his jacket pockets with electrical breakers, each valued at around $100, and using a pole to knock down boxes of goods down from top shelves at a Home Depot store in April.
Erlin Hernandez Lopez and Denny Hernandez Gomez, both of Pomona, were part of a second crew, officials said.
The police arrested 14 people in connection to the scheme on Aug. 14, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman. The nine who have been charged face maximum sentences that range from four to 32 years in state prison. The status of the other five individuals arrested this month was unclear.
The case is ongoing, and more arrests are likely, officials said.
“On Aug. 13, they must have thought that life is grand. They’ve been making millions of dollars. Didn’t look like anyone was going to stop them,” Mr. Hochman said, adding: “On Aug. 14, this scheme has come crashing down.”
Yan Zhuang is a Times reporter in Seoul who covers breaking news.
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