 "California Girls: Inside the women's gang that stole $8 million in cosmetics across US")
Most often when you think of gangs committing thefts, the image that pops into one’s head is that of rough-looking men perpetrating the crime. However, a gang in the US has turned this idea on its head.
Californian authorities have arrested a 53-year mother of three for allegedly masterminding a large-scale theft ring, which involved the robbery of makeup and clothes worth more than $8 million (Rs 66.22 crore), all while sitting in her expensive $3 million (Rs 24.93 crore)-worth mansion in America’s San Diego.
Who is the woman behind this notorious gang? How did she run the operations of this nationwide shoplifting organisation?
Michelle Mack and her ‘California Girls’
According to the complaint filed by the California Attorney General, a nationwide gang carried out a series of thefts across the United States, stealing makeup and clothes from various stores such as LensCrafters, Sephora and Ulta.
And the woman behind this operation is a 53-year-old woman identified as Michelle Mack.
Investigations reveal that Mack formed and ran this theft ring, dubbed California Girls, from her 4,500-square-foot mansion in San Diego. Investigators note that the 53-year-old recruited 12 women to steal from various stores such as Ulta, TJ Maxx and Walgreens. She would allegedly pay their air fares, hotel bills and car rentals and then stockpile the stolen goods at her house. She would then sell the items on Amazon for a fraction of the retail price, building an empire worth millions.
In fact, authorities say that Mack built an empire worth millions based off her modus operandi. When they raided her house in December last year, they recovered nearly 10,000 items worth over $387,000 (Rs 3.2 crore). They also uncovered what they described as a “mini store,” teeming with beauty products, sunglasses and designer bags inside Mack’s garage. Hundreds of postmarked envelopes were stuffed with stolen products ready to be sent out to customers, according to investigators.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsMack’s ‘California Girls’ were notorious. They committed thefts up and down the California coast and into Washington, Utah, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona, Illinois, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Ohio.
Crimes come to light
But how did Mack’s crimes come to light? Investigators have spent more than two years trying to find the gang behind these crimes.
They finally were successful when they arrested two shoplifters in an Ulta store on the East Coast. One of the two arrested then revealed to the police that she was working for a woman living in California, who provided her with a list of stores to target and the prices she would pay for stolen items. A search of her phone revealed dozens of messages from a woman later identified as Mack.
One of the messages from Mack to the woman read: “Did you get some new girls? I really need product so if you have anything please let me know.”
It was through more probing that authorities found out that Mack ran a retail outlet on Amazon called Online Makeup Store, offering more than 300 different items.
Authorities Speak
Following Mack’s arrest, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed 140 felony charges against Mack, her husband Kenneth Mack, and other alleged members of the crime ring. The charges include conspiracy to commit organised retail theft, grand theft and receipt of stolen property.
Bonta was quoted by the New York Post as saying, “This is a multimillion-dollar criminal scheme. It was complex. It was orchestrated. We are not talking about garden-variety shoplifting.”
And Amazon’s records prove this. Paperwork reveals that the items listed on the marketplace were nearly 50 per cent discounted. And through this scheme, Online Makeup Store had racked up sales worth $8 million since 2012, with nearly $2 million (Rs 15 crore) in 2022 alone.
Retail crime in the US
Mack’s operation is indicative of how organised retail crime is a growing issue in the United States. In fact, most retailers say their top worry is “organised retail crime” — coordinated operations in which people tend to steal and offload in bulk, often through online stores.
Data reveals that in 2022, retailers across the country lost $40.5 billion (Rs 3.3 lakh crore) to theft, including organised retail crime. Several big retailers had spoken about the dangers of retail theft, with Walmart’s CEO saying it could lead to store closures and higher prices. Target’s CEO had also said it was costing the chain upward of a billion dollars. Home Depot’s finance chief had called it a “consistent pressure” that the chain was “tackling every day.”
And the dangers of retail theft go beyond just the business aspect of it. Ulta CEO Dave Kimbell told CNBC that retail crime can threaten the safety of workers and shoppers. “The financial impact is real, but way more important is the human impact, the impact it has to our associates, the impact it has to our guests.
“It also impacts the communities in which we live,” he added in the same interview. “If people don’t feel safe going in to shop in certain areas of a community, it really has an impact and can change neighbourhoods and change communities over time.”
And realising the dangers of this phenomenon, the government has taken steps. Authorities are cracking down on organised retail crime and lawmakers are proposing and passing more measures to curb it.
Marketplaces such as Amazon have also stepped up in an attempt to stop the sale of these stolen goods on their platforms. In fact, in the case of Michelle Mack, an Amazon spokesperson said that the company helped with the investigation into Michelle Mack’s alleged theft crew and provided evidence to investigators. It said it’s “pleased” the suspects were arrested because it “sends a strong message that the sale of stolen goods has severe consequences.”
With inputs from agencies
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