Dozens of members of retail theft ring convicted, sentenced, NYS Attorney General Letitia James says

Dozens of members of a “massive retail theft ring” that was centered in midtown Manhattan and included a Long Island woman have been convicted and sentenced, state Attorney General Letitia James said.

Roni Rubinov, the Fresh Meadows, Queens, pawnbroker authorities said was the ringleader, was among the last to be sentenced this spring. He was convicted of enterprise corruption and sentenced to 2½ to 7½ years in state prison, according to a news release Thursday from the attorney general’s office. He forfeited $2.1 million and must pay additional restitution of $3.1 million.

Jacqueline Alessi, 37, of Selden, was convicted earlier of welfare fraud, sentenced to 3 years of probation and paid $3,053.93 in restitution for her role in the operation.

In Thursday's news release and a 2022 grand jury indictment in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, authorities described a theft and money laundering operation in which Rubinov directed 30 low-level “boosters” to steal specific items from retailers based on sales trends at his eBay store, Treasure-Deals-USA.

The indictment gave a glimpse into an illicit but organized economy: boosters earned 6% to 8% of the retail value of clothes they turned in, and $1 to $2 per item for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Gift cards earned 50% of face value. A stolen Rolex with a retail value of $18,600 earned its booster $13,000.

Goods were stashed in Rubinov’s Manhattan office or in Queens before they were sold, according to the indictment. The proceeds were laundered through PayPal and a Bank of America account for one of Rubinov’s businesses, according to the indictment. Between 2017 and 2020, the ring collected $3.8 million in stolen goods that generated $1.4 million when resold on eBay.

“This crime ring organized bands of shoplifters to rob stores throughout our city, putting both businesses and everyday New Yorkers in danger,” James said in the release. “Roni Rubinov and his associates ran a massive scheme to steal millions of dollars of goods and resell them online for big profits.”

The indictment described Alessi’s role as selling “EBT benefits cards with Welfare benefit balances” to Rubinov and other ring members for cash. EBT, or electronic benefits transfer cards, work like debit cards and link to an account holder’s food stamp or cash benefits. Rubinov used the EBT cards to purchase groceries for his family, according to the release.

Alessi’s lawyer, Jersey City-based Adrienne Edward, said that Alessi “was not one of those main participants ... She was one of the low-hanging fruit.” She added that her client has had “no violations, no anything since this happened.”

A lawyer for Rubinov did not respond to a request for comment. 

A spokesman for eBay said in an email that the company had worked closely with James on the case. The company "has zero tolerance for criminal activity on our platform and has been a leader in the battle to curtail organized retail theft."

The national impact of organized retail crime is unclear. In April, the National Retail Federation, which advocates for federal legislation to combat the phenomenon, described organized theft as a “multibillion-dollar crisis” coinciding with more violence and aggression from shoplifters.

The group in 2023 retracted a claim that organized theft was responsible for nearly half of $94.51 billion in shrink, an industry term for inventory losses from such things as theft, fraud, error and damage. A 2024 report by the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan think tank, concluded that retail theft including shoplifting “does not appear to be rising nationally,” though some cities, including New York, were facing “historically elevated levels of theft.” Data on organized theft were unreliable, the report found.

Melissa O'Connor, president and CEO of the Retail Council of New York State, said organized theft was a community safety issue. "Attorney General James should be commended for holding these crime syndicates accountable to the full extent of the law," O'Connor said. 

By Nicholas Spangler

nicholas.spangler@newsday.comspanglernewsday

Nicholas Spangler is a general assignment reporter and has worked at Newsday since 2010.