After stealing merchandise worth millions of dollars and then proceeding to sell them online through eBay, a woman from Texas was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
Identified as Kim Richardson, the perpetrator agreed to pay $3.8 million in order to compensate for the items that she stole and sold.
According to Thursday's news release by US Attorney Ryan K. Patrick, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's inquiry led them to the 63-year-old suspect.
Richardson hails from Dallas and was tagged as a professional shoplifter. In a statement by the federal prosecutors, the woman has been selling items that she shoplifted online for almost two decades.
The perp's modus operandi is stealing stuff from shops as she traveled through the United States. After this, she would post them on eBay or sell them through direct internet sales. Upon purchase, she would then mail the items to the buyers via FedEx (Federal Express), US Mail, and UPS (United Parcel Service)
According to CNN, Richardson has stolen items from several retail stores. She is also known to use shoplifting tools in order to disable security devices.
Moreover, she would take the items from the store and put them inside a hug black bag that she carries with her and exit the store as if nothing happened.
The news release also stated that Richardson was also charged for assisting in the sale of the stolen items online, in addition to packaging and mailing them.
It is still undetermined if Richardson has a lawyer. It was also noted that she has been given the order to serve her 54-month sentence which is followed by a supervised release of three years.
It was also noted that Richardson was able to earn almost 4 million dollars selling the stolen goods. Customers have reportedly paid around $3.8 million in 4 different PayPal accounts which were all liked to Richardson.
Based on reports, during the sentencing, the court stressed that it is "virtually impossible" to trace and identify those who have fallen victim to Richardson's schemes. It would also be nearly impossible to recover all the stolen items, thus, Richardson was also ordered to pay the amount in restitution.
The FBI, along with the Secret Service conducted the investigation which led to the arrest of the thief from Dallas in 2019.
In December of last year, the perp pleaded guilty to her crimes. She was then allowed to stay on bond. Moreover, she was ordered to voluntarily surrender to a facility of the United States Bureau of Prison which is still yet to be determined.
At the moment, there have been no statements released by Richardson's party as it is still unknown if she has a lawyer who represented her. Several news agencies have tried to reach out to the perp but received no response.
Aside from being a professional shoplifter and earning online from the items she stole, Richardson also admitted that from august of 2000 until April of 2019, she was part of the interstate theft ring.
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