Glamorous millionaire ‘queenpin’, 53, is accused of running crime ring of 12 women called ‘California Girls’ who stole $8M in cosmetics and designer clothes, storing them in 4,500 sq ft mansion and selling them on Amazon
A wealthy California mother is accused of masterminding a nationwide shoplifting ring that stole millions of dollars worth of makeup and clothing from hundreds of stores for more than a decade.
Michelle Mack, 53, allegedly paid airline tickets, hotel bills and car rental fees for a dozen agents, who would send their loot to her Bonsall home before reselling it at low prices through a front company on Amazon Marketplace.
Her gang, dubbed the “California Girls” by investigators, operated in more than a dozen states from coast to coast, targeting stores including LensCrafters, Sephora and at least 231 Ulta stores.
Police found a ‘mini-shop’ with goods worth $350,000 in her $3 million home during a 5am raid and fear total damage to retailers may have exceeded $8 million.
“If you try to make easy money off the hard work of others, we will arrest and prosecute you,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said when the charges were filed.
Michelle Mack, 53, pictured with husband Kenneth, was the alleged mastermind of a nationwide shoplifting ring that netted the couple $8 million over 10 years
Mack and her eight co-defendants have denied the charges against them
Police described the shipment as a ‘mini market’ after discovering it had been decorated warehouse style in the 4,500 sq ft mansion in Bonsall.
Investigators spent more than two years trying to break the gang, whose job it was to clean out entire shelves of goods they hid in Louis Vuitton bags.
The conspiracy would fall apart when two shoplifters were arrested at an Ulta store on the East Coast and one of them told police she worked for a woman in California, who gave her a list of stores to target and the prices they would charge. would pay for that. stolen items.
A search of her phone revealed dozens of messages from a woman later identified as Mack.
Investigators then discovered that Mack ran a store on Amazon called Online Makeup Store, which offered more than 300 items in his product line.
“The items offered for sale were nearly 50 percent lower than the actual sales price, which was included in the sales list,” an application for a search warrant explained.
“This high discount suggested that the items were being foreclosed.”
Amazon provided researchers with data showing that the outfit had generated $8 million in sales since 2012, including nearly $2 million in 2022 alone.
Documents filed by the attorney general’s office show that “the manner in which defendants committed the crimes indicates planning, sophistication or professionalism.”
Kenneth Mack has also been charged, along with his wife and seven alleged officers
Alleged gang member Alina Franco reportedly had $67,000 worth of stolen beauty products at her home in Colton, San Bernardino, when her home was robbed the same day. She appeared in court on February 27, where she denied multiple offences
Police say they found $350,000 worth of stolen property when they raided a $3 million home in northern San Diego County
More than 300 products were sold from Mack’s home in rural California
Stolen cosmetics were sold online from home at half the retail value, prosecutors allege
They also allege that Mack “solicited others to participate in the commission of the crime or assumed a leadership or dominant position over other participants in the commission of the crime.”
‘I’m not going to steal regularly, I’m going to quickly fill my bag. So I also want to know things I can grab in bulk,” defendant Kimora Lee texted Gooding Mack on January 7 last year.
Days later, Mack texted her husband, “Even without Lancome we still did well,” before replying, “Lots of orders, let’s sort out shipping.”
Investigators raided her home in northern San Diego County on December 6 before filing 140 charges against Mack, her husband Kenneth and seven of her alleged gang members.
Upon entering the 4,500-square-foot mansion, they “located and seized hundreds of packages that had been prepared for shipment and would ultimately be sent to the local post office.”
The indictment includes 136 counts of grand larceny, two counts of receiving stolen property, one count of conspiracy and one count of organized retail crime.
“I see the justice system is working slowly, but it seems to be working,” one of Macks’ neighbors told NBC7.
One of the women, Alina Franco, reportedly had $67,000 worth of stolen beauty products at her home in Colton, San Bernardino, when her home was robbed the same day.
Last July, Mack texted Franco asking, “Did you get some new girls?” I really need a product, so if you have anything, let me know.”
Franco appeared in court on February 27, where she denied multiple crimes, including conspiracy to commit organized retail theft.
The National Retail Federation estimates that retailers will lose $40.5 billion to shoplifters by 2022, much of it to organized gangs.
The number of cases brought by Homeland Security Investigations against organized theft groups more than tripled from 59 to 199 between 2021 and 2022.
LensCrafter stores in California were among those targeted, and more than 230 Ulta stores reportedly fell victim to the gang
“The increase in organized retail crime affects all retailers, consumers and communities,” said Dan Petrousek, vice president of Ulta.
“Not only does organized retail crime endanger the safety of our store associates and guests, but it also results in potentially unsafe or damaged products being resold to consumers online under false pretenses.”
Mack’s home, complete with pool, four-car garage and 31-acre vineyard, is now for sale for $2.75 million after a $200,000 price reduction.
Bonta said the investigation is still ongoing and the overall scale of the operation may be even larger.