Busted: 14 charged in massive $20 million South Florida retail theft ring

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — Attorney General Ashley Moody has announced the conclusion of "Operation on the Fence", a racketeering investigation targeting a substantial retail theft criminal network across South Florida. The operation resulted in criminal charges against 14 individuals who were part of this retail theft ring.

“Sometimes they obtained master keys and go to a Walgreens and empty out a whole shelf of over-the-counter prescription medication or they go into a store and just walk out with a golf bag that's worth $3,000 so, that's they're pretty much their MO,” George Aguire, with the Miami-Dade Organized Crime Bureau, said.

Officers said these crooks hit more than 20 different retailers, anywhere from Walgreens, Walmart and Winn Dixie to Guitar Center and Golf Galaxy. Stolen items ranged from over-the-counter medications and cosmetics to tools, electronics, Legos, and various household goods.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said that ultimately, it’s a price we as consumers have to pay in the end.

“When these losses happen from theft, these criminals cause these expenses to businesses and then they are then passed on to the prices that you and I, all these people standing behind me, all law-abiding Floridians pay when they go to the cash register,” Moody said.

Those with the Organized Crime Bureau said the process is simple. The thieves would sell to sell to a man named Arland Cata. Cata then paid the criminals a percentage of each item before selling in bulk to Joshua Markell, who owned and operated an Amazon storefront called Hollywoodseller.

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When Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Markell, they found nearly 5,000 items worth more than $1.2 million in stolen merchandise. Markell had shipped over 100,000 items to Amazon through the Hollywoodseller this year.

Oftentimes, employees see it happening but for safety reasons, choose not to approach. Instead, places like Ace Hardware are putting in extra security to hopefully put a stop to things before they happen.

“Prior to us having a cage to block off our isle that has our power tools, we were probably stolen from two, three, four times a day sometimes,” Dave Rich, General Manager of Ace Hardware stores in Greenacres and Lantana, said.

Attorney General Moody's Office of Statewide Prosecution is charging 14 individuals, including Markell, with various charges such as racketeering, organized retail theft, grand theft, dealing in stolen property, and conspiracy charges based on their roles within the criminal enterprise.

Markell is being held at the Palm Beach County Main Detention Center on a combined bond of nearly $1.4 million.

The investigation involved multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Miami-Dade Police Department, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Broward Sheriff's Office, Homeland Security Investigations, Coral Springs Police Department, and Pembroke Pines Police Department.