NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – City officials on Thursday announced the takedown of a massive retail theft operation that stole and resold millions of dollars in goods.
According to an indictment, 41 people were charged for their roles in this crime ring that stole luxury clothing and goods and thousands of items from drug stores that were then resold on eBay.
Authorities charged Roni Rubinov, 42, Yuriy Khodzhandiyev, 39, Rafik Israilov, 56, Akasya Yasaroglu, 26, Lyudmila Yushuvayev aka “Lyudmila Yadegar” aka “Ludi”, 46, Erica Zambrano, 43, Fathi Negadi, 39, Caroline Gallego, 36, Ramdass Ramkissoon aka “Paulie”, 64, Zamira Shaganova, 33, Ana Balaceanu, 40, Charles Harman, 58, with various counts of enterprise corruption, money laundering, criminal possession of stolen property, scheme to defraud and conspiracy.
“Today’s takedown of this massive retail theft operation is part of our continued efforts to combat crime and restore an environment where all New Yorkers feel secure,” said Attorney General James. “These individuals stole millions of dollars in luxury goods and cleared the shelves of drug stores in the communities we live and resold these goods for great profit.”
During the three-year investigation, law enforcement seized more than $3.8 million worth of stolen retail items from the alleged boss, Roni Rubinov’s residence, stash house, and business locations.
Officials seized:
• Designer clothing, handbags, belts, and shoes,
• Cosmetics,
• Over the counter medications,
• Miscellaneous drug store items,
• Tools and electronics,
• Coffee,
•More than 550 gift cards from approximately 60 different retailers, including Amazon, Home Depot, Walgreens, Visa, Apple iTunes, Modell’s, Lowe’s, Kmart, American Express, and Pottery Barn.
Approximately $300,000 were also seized.
The boosters brought stolen property to Rubinov’s New Liberty Loans Pawn Shop, located at 67 W 47th St. and to Romanov Gold Buyers Inc., located at 71 W 47th St. in Midtown.
Rubinov's employees Akasya Yasaroglu, Lyudmila Yushuvayev aka “Lyudmila Yadegar”, “Ludi”, Zamira Shaganova, Erica Zambrano, and Ramdass Ramkissoon aka “Paulie” purchased stolen clothing items for six-to-eight percent of their retail value and stolen pharmaceutical items and cosmetics at the rate of one-to-two dollars per item, depending on the brand, the NYPD said.
Rubinov regularly provided his employees with cash to pay for the stolen property, which was allocated to promote the ongoing procurement of stolen property.
Once the stolen property was purchased by Rubinov or his employees, it was stored at one of the locations in Midtown and was regularly transported to Rubinov’s residence and stash house, both located in Fresh Meadows, Queens.
Ana Balaceanu, Fathi Negadi, Caroline Gallego, and Patrice Collins inventoried and organized the stolen property at the stash locations in Queens. Balaceanu, Yasaroglu, Collins, and Gallego then posted the stolen property for resale on Rubinov’s Treasure-Deals-USA eBay store.
Once the posted items were purchased, they were transported back to 71 W 47th St. to be packaged and subsequently shipped to Rubinov’s eBay customers.
Some of his employees organized the stolen property at the stash locations in Queens then posted the stolen property for resale on Rubinov’s Treasure-Deals-USA eBay store, authorities said.
Once the posted items were purchased, they were transported back to 71 W 47th St. to be packaged and subsequently shipped to Rubinov’s eBay customers.
“Public safety is the prerequisite to prosperity, and so we want to be clear that we will investigate, arrest, and prosecute criminals when they break the law,” said Mayor Adams. "This wasn’t just shoplifting, but people going into stores and clearing off shelves as part of an organized crime ring. This massive retail-theft scheme affected every level of our economy, from department stores to big chains to independent businesses — all of whom were already impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Through electronic and physical surveillance, analysis of financial records, and other investigative tools, officials found that since 2017, Rubinov, Yuriy Khodzhandiyev and Rafik Israilov, Rubinov’s alleged managers, have been directing career boosters to steal specific merchandise and gift cards from retailers.
Rubinov and his managers then purchased the stolen goods for fractions of the retail price and resold them for profit on an eBay store called Treasure-Deals-USA.
Since 2017, the Treasure Steals USA Operation has sold more than $1,373,728 of stolen property via Rubinov’s eBay store.
In addition to Rubinov’s on-site employees, he contracted a remote web designer and eCommerce consultant, Charles Harman who maintained the eBay store front, used tools to increase its online visibility and traffic, and created additional sites for the enterprise, law enforcement officials said.
In December of 2019, Rubinov signed a lease for a large warehouse space located in Fresh Meadows, where he planned to open a “department store” like facility stocked with stolen property, authorities said.
Additionally, OCTF and NYPD uncovered that Rubinov procured EBT cards and benefits from boosters in exchange for cash and used these EBT benefits to purchase groceries for his family.
OCTF alleges that Rubinov washed the illicit proceeds from the sale of stolen property through his PayPal account and subsequently through one of his bank accounts, thereby successfully concealing the proceeds from the sale of stolen property.
OCTF further alleges that Rubinov reinvested almost 60 percent of his eBay gross proceeds into the enterprise. Specifically, Rubinov and his employees reinvested funds for various illicit business expenses, such as cash withdrawals which paid boosters for stolen property, payments made to Rubinov’s employees and marketing campaigns. These types of payments and expenses were the foundation of Rubinov’s enterprise, which enabled Rubinov to continue to purchase and resell stolen property; and which perpetuated the flow of illicit proceeds into Rubinov’s PayPal and bank accounts.
Each defendant, if convicted, faces up to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison.
In addition to the 12 people charged with Enterprise Corruption, the following 28 individuals are charged with Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the First Degree, and various other crimes, in relation to their involvement in the organized retail theft and fencing operation.
Patrice Collins, 67, Salimou Dabo, 36, Jerard Iamunno aka “Italiano”, 39, Lance Fair, 31, Cayla Roman, 23, Kathleen Ragusa, 42, Gregory Roosa, 49, Jordan Cavaliero, 39, Thomas Nicholas aka “Tommy”, 33, Eveylon Ferguson, 33,
Kevin Ruthenbeck, 35, David Higgins, 48, Justin Pepchinski, 43, Daniel Weber, 36, Patrick Casey, 41, Shawn Herald, 40, Shanon Winkler aka “Shea”, 26, James Bilis aka “Slim”, Samantha Cotroneo, 30, Herman Ellis, 48, Chris Plamondon, 31, Joshua Dvorin, 33, Reagan Callihan aka “Meagan”, 41, Sharif Warner, 45, Chase Bunt, 33, Michael Morris, 26, Jabari Smith, 31, New York
Alonzo Roberts, 30.
Each defendant, if convicted, faces up to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison.
Lastly, eight people are charged with Criminal Use of a Public Benefit Card in the First and Second Degree and Welfare Fraud in the Third Degree, in relation to their role in the EBT theft scheme.
Roni Rubinov, 42, Yuriy Khodzhandiyev, 39, Akasya Yasaroglu, 26, Zamira Shaganova, 33, James Bilis aka “Slim”, 32, Justin Pepchinski, 43, Kathleen Ragusa, 42, Jacqueline Alessi, 34.
Each defendant, if convicted of these charges, faces up to 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison.
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