Between Louis Vuitton holdups and Fashion District drug cartels, the term “fashion crime” is beginning to take on a whole different meaning these days.
This week, a group of Saks Fifth Avenue employees in New York were arrested after they treated themselves to a $400,000 shopping spree using patrons’ stolen credit card information.
According to a criminal complaint, ringleader Tamara Williams, 36, of Queens, swiped credit card data from 22 customers at the Midtown flagship store. She then recruited five of her co-workers, who she directed to purchase specific luxury items with the stolen information. Making the robbery even more like the plot line of a heist movie, Williams then hired a third group of “fake shoppers,” who delivered the bags of stolen merchandise to her in Queens.
It was later revealed that some of the stolen goods were returned to the store, and the reimbursements were charged to fake accounts created by the culprits.
After viewing surveillance of the illicit transactions, law enforcement then raided Williams’ home in Bellerose, where they found "over one hundred boxes of shoes... as well as many boxes of handbags and other [Saks] merchandise," the criminal complaint stated.
Williams, Kris Rockson, Jason Chance, Michael Knight-Williams, Michael Bright-Asante, and Alaia Harrison were all busted Friday and charged with grand larceny and identify theft.
[via Daily Mail]
