HARRISBURG, PA — The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Organized Retail Crime Unit racked up 60 criminal charges, opened more than 100 new investigations, and seized nearly $500,000 in stolen goods and cash during its first full year of operation in 2025, officials announced.
The unit, led by Dave Sunday, targets high-dollar retail theft rings, return and exchange fraud, and online purchase schemes that authorities say drive up prices for consumers as retailers absorb losses.
Launched in the summer of 2024 and reaching full strength last year, the Organized Retail Crime Unit opened investigations in 52 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. The team works alongside local, state, and federal partners to pursue cases that often involve coordinated theft crews, gift card manipulation, and account takeovers.
In a statement, Sunday said the results show what coordinated enforcement can achieve and signaled that additional cases are coming as investigators continue to expand their reach across the Commonwealth.
The unit was formally established on July 1, 2024, following the enactment of Act 42 of 2023, which created a new criminal statute making retail thefts exceeding $50,000 a first-degree felony.
Investigators reported seizing nearly $250,000 in stolen merchandise statewide last year. Authorities said the value of goods that were resold or transferred before recovery would total in the millions.
In 2025, the Office of Attorney General also joined the national Gift Card Fraud Prevention Alliance, a coalition of business leaders, community groups, and law enforcement agencies focused on combating gift card fraud and related retail crime.
The Organized Retail Crime Unit is staffed by 12 agents and seven attorneys operating across Pennsylvania.
Notable cases from 2025 include a statewide prosecution alleging that Eugene Antwi used stolen credit and debit card information to place more than 200 online orders totaling over $65,000 for high-end liquor at Fine Wine and Spirits stores in 21 counties. Another case charges Charros Montanez with buying Apple AirPods and returning counterfeit versions at 37 Walmart stores, netting more than $20,000.
In northeastern and eastern Pennsylvania, two men were charged in a Lowe’s customer account takeover scheme affecting at least 18 stores across Bucks, Lehigh, Luzerne, Northampton, Monroe, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and Pike counties. In southcentral Pennsylvania, three people were charged in separate Lowe’s credit card account takeovers totaling more than $60,000 in purchases.
Authorities in southeastern and southcentral Pennsylvania charged Nilson Peralta Rodriguez, an Amazon employee, with stealing more than $50,000 in merchandise from a Bucks County distribution center and reselling the goods in the Reading area.
In western Pennsylvania, two individuals were charged with stealing Cub Cadet riding mowers valued between $2,000 and $3,000 each from Tractor Supply and Home Depot stores in Allegheny and Washington counties. Another case charged five people in a conspiracy to alter video gaming device redemption tickets from bars, gas stations, and convenience stores across six counties, generating more than $50,000 in illicit profits.
Officials said the crackdown is expected to intensify as investigators continue to pursue organized retail theft operations statewide.
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