Two men have been charged with stealing almost $100,000 from Lowe’s stores across eastern Pennsylvania through a customer account takeover scheme, according to the Pa. Attorney General’s office.
According to officials, Jose Gomez and Ysaias Arajuo were charged on Thursday with felony counts of corrupt organizations, organized retail theft, and theft by unlawful taking, among other offenses. Araujo’s arrest warrant has been issued, and Gomez is in custody.
According to the Attorney General’s office, the men were involved in at least 56 retail thefts at 18 Lowe’s stores in Bucks, Lehigh, Luzerne, Northampton, Monroe, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and Pike counties. They utilized stolen information from Lowe’s customer accounts to pay for products at self-checkout kiosks.
“These defendants orchestrated a sophisticated scheme that targeted unsuspecting customers as well as Lowe’s businesses across numerous counties,” Attorney General Sunday said. “Organized retail theft impacts consumers who will be forced to pay higher prices for goods as businesses raise prices to recover losses. I applaud the dedicated efforts of our Organized Crime Section for ensuring this pair is brought to justice.”
According to the press release, investigators discovered Gomez and Araujo utilizing the self-check kiosk to make transactions on their cell phones, which were linked to stolen customer accounts.
When customers whose accounts were compromised received bills with bogus charges, they contested the purchases with the bank that issued their Lowe’s card. According to officials, the bank refused to pay Lowe’s, forcing the company to bear the expense of the heist.
The total loss to Lowe’s is $99,689, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
The Warrington Township Police Department provided assistance in the investigation.
