HARRISBURG – Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that two men are charged with stealing nearly $100,000 from Lowe’s stores across eastern Pennsylvania through a customer account takeover scheme.
Jose Gomez and Ysaias Arajuo were charged Thursday with felony counts of corrupt organizations, organized retail theft, theft by unlawful taking, along with other related offenses. Gomez is in custody; a warrant was issued for Arajuo’s arrest.
The men were involved in at least 56 retail thefts at 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.
“These defendants orchestrated a sophisticated scheme that targeted unsuspecting customers as well as Lowe’s businesses across numerous counties,” Attorney General Sunday said. “Organized retail theft impacts consumers who will be forced to pay higher prices for goods as businesses raise prices to recover losses. I applaud the dedicated efforts of our Organized Crime Section for ensuring this pair is brought to justice.”
Investigators discovered Gomez and Araujo utilized the self-check kiosk to make purchases using their cell phones, which were linked to stolen customer accounts. When customers whose accounts were stolen received bills with fraudulent charges, they disputed the purchases with the bank that issued their Lowe’s card. The bank declined payment to Lowe’s, leaving the company to absorb the cost of the theft.
The total amount of the loss to Lowe’s is $99,689.
Warrington Township Police Department assisted with the investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Noelle Wilkinson of the Organized Retail Crime Unit. Criminal charges, and any discussion thereof, are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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