Connecticut couple charged in ring suspected of stealing $1 million in Lululemon clothing

MINNEAPOLIS — A Connecticut couple has been charged in Minnesota with being part of a theft ring suspected of stealing about $1 million worth of merchandise across the country from luxury athletic apparel retailer Lululemon.

Jadion Anthony Richards, 44, and Akwele Nickeisha Lawes-Richards, 45, both of Danbury, Conn., were charged this month with one count of organized theft. Both were free last week after posting bail of $100,000 for him and $30,000 for her, court records show. They are due back in Ramsey County District Court in St. Paul on December 16.

According to criminal complaints, a Lululemon investigator followed the pair just before police first confronted them Nov. 14 at a store in suburban Roseville. The investigator told police the couple was responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses across the country, the complaints said. They would steal items and make fraudulent returns, it said.

Police found suitcases containing more than $50,000 worth of Lululemon clothing when they searched the couple’s Bloomington hotel room, the complaint states.

According to the investigator, they were also suspected of shoplifting from Lululemon stores in Colorado, Utah, New York and Connecticut, the complaint states. In Minnesota, they were also charged with shoplifting in Minneapolis and the suburbs of Woodbury, Edina and Minnetonka.

The investigator said the two were part of a group that would typically travel to a city and visit Lululemon stores there for two days, return to the East Coast to exchange items without receipts for new items, take back new items with return receipts. for credit card refunds, then return to commit more thefts, the complaint says.

In at least some of the thefts, it was said, Richards would go into the store first and buy one or two cheap items. He would then return to the sales floor where, with the help of Lawes-Richards, they would remove a security sensor from another item and place it on one of the items he had just purchased. Lawes-Richards and another woman would then hide the leggings under their clothes.

Then they would leave together. When the door’s security sensors went off, he would offer the staff the bag of items he had purchased while the women continued to exit, tricking the staff into thinking his sensor had set off the alarm, the complaint said. .

Richards’ attorney declined to comment. Lawes-Richards’ public defender did not immediately return a call seeking comment Monday.

“This result continues to underscore our continued collaboration with law enforcement and our investments in advanced technology, team training and investigative capabilities to combat retail crime and hold offenders accountable,” said Lululemon Vice President Tristen Shields for asset protection, in a statement. “We remain committed to continuing these efforts to address and prevent this industry-wide problem.”

The two are being prosecuted under a state law passed last year that seeks to end organized retail theft. One of its principal authors, Sen. Ron Latz, of St. Louis Park, said 34 states already had organized retail crime laws on their books.

“I’m glad to see it’s working as intended to stop criminal operations,” Latz said in a statement. “This type of theft hurts retailers in countless ways, including lost business, lost jobs and threats to worker safety in the event of crime. remains unaddressed. It also harms consumers by driving up costs and selling compromised products online.”

Two women from Minnesota were also charged under the new law in August. They were accused of targeting a Lululemon store in Minneapolis.