A Connecticut couple is facing years behind bars for allegedly stealing as much as $1 million in Lululemon merchandise from stores across the U.S. in an elaborate retail crime scheme.
Authorities in Minnesota arrested Jadion Richards, 44, and Akwele Lawes-Richards, 45, earlier this month for organized retail theft after they allegedly shoplifted from a Lululemon store at a mall in Rosedale – and evidently, the pair had already been on Lululemon's radar.
The criminal complaints filed in Ramsey County accuse the couple of engaging in a massive organized retail crime operation in which they worked with others to steal items from Lululemon locations spanning multiple states including Colorado, Utah and Minnesota, over the past few months and "returning" them at stores on the East Coast, pocketing the ill-gotten gains.
An organized retail crime investigator for Lululemon detailed how the pair allegedly operated, per the complaints.
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The investigator said Richards would typically enter a store first and purchase one or two small items. Then Lawes-Richards and another woman would enter the store, grabbing items and concealing them, and Richards would meet them on the sales floor with his bag of purchased goods.
They would allegedly remove a security sensor from one item using a type of tool, and attach it to one of the small items Richards purchased.
The trio would then each hide several stolen items on their person, and the women would walk out ahead of the store with Richards following. When the security sensors inevitably triggered an alarm, the women would continue walking while Richards would stay behind.
Then store staff would inspect Richards' bag, remove the sensor that the alleged thieves had placed on it, and he would leave, with workers assuming the tag on the item in his bag was the sole reason for the alarm going off.
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The Lululemon investigator said the pair used this scheme in a "never-ending cycle" to the tune of stealing an estimated $1 million in goods.
When the pair was finally busted with another accomplice in Minnesota, Richards claimed he was being racially profiled, and accused Lululemon employees of setting off the alarm intentionally.
"This outcome continues to underscore our ongoing collaboration with law enforcement and our investments in advanced technology, team training and investigative capabilities to combat retail crime and hold offenders accountable," Tristen Shields, Lululemon's vice president for asset protection, told FOX Business in a statement following the couple's arrests. "We remain dedicated to continuing these efforts to address and prevent this industry-wide issue."
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Prosecutors asked for $1 million bail for each defendant, but the court only ordered $30,000 for Lawes-Richards with conditional release and $100,000 bail for Richards. They were both able to post bail, and are due back in court on Dec. 16.
