HARRISBURG — Attorney General Dave Sunday announced the Office of Attorney General’s Organized Retail Crime Unit, in its first full year (2025), charged 60 individuals, surpassed 100 new investigations, and seized nearly half a million dollars in stolen goods and cash proceeds.
The unit collaborates with local, state, and federal law enforcement to target high-dollar in-store thefts, sophisticated return/exchange schemes, and fraudulent online purchases that ultimately raise the price of goods for Pennsylvanians as businesses recover from losses.
Attorney General Sunday discusses these efforts in a year-in-review video HERE.
Downloadable version HERE.
Launched in summer 2024, the Organized Retail Crime Unit has opened investigations in 52 Pennsylvania counties.
“In our first full year at full strength, we demonstrated what can be achieved with collaboration and commitment to stopping thieves who menace innocent shoppers and employees and stretch the budgets of Pennsylvania families,” Attorney General Sunday said. “And this is just the start. We will continue to work with law enforcement and community partners, and show thieves and fraudsters that this conduct is serious and has serious consequences.”
The Organized Retail Crime Unit launched on July 1, 2024, following Act 42 (of 2023) and a new criminal statute that made retail theft of goods over $50,000 a first-degree felony.
The Organized Retail Crime Unit responds to high-dollar thefts, typically perpetrated by multiple thieves who manipulate gift cards and store return/exchange policies — or, in many cases, enter retail stores in packs and steal as many items as they can as quickly as possible.
The unit seized last year nearly $250,000 in stolen goods — statewide — during investigations. The value of items not found, re-sold, or transferred by the defendants would be in the millions.
Also, in 2025, the Office of Attorney General joined the national Gift Card Fraud Prevention Alliance, which is a network of business, community, and law enforcement leaders working together to prevent gift card fraud and other forms of organized retail crime.
The OAG’s Organized Retail Crime Unit is staffed with twelve agents and seven attorneys who work across the Commonwealth.
Here are some notable cases from 2025:
Statewide:
- Eugene Antwi is charged with using stolen credit/debit card information to make more than 200 online orders, totaling more than $65,000, for expensive liquors at Fine Wine and Spirits Stores in 21 counties.
- Charros Montanez is charged with purchasing Apple AirPods and returning counterfeit AirPods at 37 Wal-Mart stores across the Commonwealth. The scheme profited more than $20,000.
In northeastern/eastern Pa.:
- Two men were charged in a Lowe’s customer account takeover scheme, targeting at least 18 Lowe’s stores in Bucks, Lehigh, Luzerne, Northampton, Monroe, Montgomery, Philadelphia and Pike counties. They used self checkout kiosks to pay for purchases — using information stolen from Lowe’s customer accounts.
In southcentral Pa.:
- Three people charged with takeovers of Lowe’s credit card accounts, making purchases at eight Pennsylvania stores, for more than $60,000 worth of items.
In southeastern/southcentral Pa.:
- Nilson Peralta Rodriguez, an Amazon employee, is charged with stealing more than $50,000 in merchandise from a Bucks County distribution center, then selling it in the Reading area.
In western Pa.:
- Two individuals charged with stealing Cub Cadet riding mowers, valued at $2,000 to $3,000 apiece, from Tractor Supply and Home Depot stores in Allegheny and Washington counties.
- Five individuals charged in a conspiracy to alter/inflate video gaming device redemption tickets from bars, gas stations, and convenience stores across six counties, profiting more than $50,000.
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