Eight people were indicted this week in New York in connection with what prosecutors describe as a “wide-ranging retail theft ring” that stole nearly $5m worth of goods – from steaks to cheeses to copper wiring and cigarettes.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office announced charges against the eight individuals on Wednesday, accusing them of “conspiring to impersonate shipping carriers in a wide-ranging retail theft ring throughout the north-east”.
Prosecutors say the group “used fraudulently obtained shipment information of real shipping carriers and brokers, impersonated the legitimate companies, and stole nearly $5m in goods from logistics sites in Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Jersey”.
“The stolen goods were then diverted to New York City for sale on the black market,” they said.
The indictment alleges that the operation ran from October 2025 through April 2026 and involved six thefts. Prosecutors say that the defendants stole $165,000 worth of lamb; $432,000 worth of cheese; $295,000 worth of beef; more than $266,000 worth of copper; and more than $3.3m of cigarettes.
Prosecutors outlined in a news release how the scheme allegedly worked and said that “when a manufacturer wants to ship large quantities of goods, they contract with a shipping broker who advertises the job using an online platform” and that “shipping carriers will then make bids, and the winner gets the final shipment details from the broker”.
The group “received the winning bids from hacker groups, with whom the defendants coordinated these activities” and alleged that they then leased tractor trucks, affixed them with the name and registration number of the real shipping carrier that was supposed to make the pickup, and then would arrive at the logistics center, pick up the goods and “coordinate further shipment into and through Manhattan”, prosecutors said.
Each defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy in the fourth degree and varying counts of grand larceny in the second degree.
“We believe that many small businesses were harmed by this theft, some of which may not be able to recover from their financial losses,” said Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, on Wednesday. “Furthermore, the intersection of sophisticated online hacking and large-scale theft is deeply concerning and will only grow more prevalent, and we are using every tool available to stay ahead of this emerging trend.”
Jessica Tisch, the New York City police commissioner, called the operation “highly coordinated” and said that it “exploited small businesses, disrupted supply chains, and pushed stolen goods” on to the hidden market.
