A crime ring stole more than 600 times from Home Depot stores across Southern California – swiping nearly $4 million worth of goods in a yearslong spree, officials said.
Ventura County officials on Tuesday announced charges against nine members of the group, who carried out the largest theft spree in Home Depot’s history.
Investigators arrested 14 people on Aug. 14 and have since seized more than $3.7 million in stolen goods and $800,000 in “dirty money.”
“On Aug. 13, they must have thought that life is grand. They’ve been making millions of dollars. Didn’t look like anyone was going to stop them,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said during a press conference. “On Aug. 14, this scheme has come crashing down.”
Since January, these criminals made off with goods from 71 Home Depot stores across Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, then resold the merchandise at a discount, officials said.
Home Depot estimated the group stole at least $10 million from the home improvement chain over the years, officials said.
Five of the charged individuals operated in “booster crews” that stole electronics like dimmer switches, circuit breakers and outlets from Home Depot stores – sometimes executing multiple thefts a day, according to officials.
The other four charged individuals were known as “fences,” who received, stored and then resold the loot.
David Ahl, 59, of Los Angeles, was the group’s ringleader, ordering the “booster crews” to steal the goods and then reselling them through his own business, Arya Wholesale, officials said.
He faces 45 charges including grand theft and money laundering.
Ahl’s brother-in-law, Omid Abrishamkar, of Calabasas, helped resell the stolen goods on eBay, officials said. He faces 11 felony counts.
Ahl’s ex-wife, Lorena Solis, and her partner, Enrique Neira Moreno, also took part in the crime ring, helping to resell stolen goods from a warehouse piled high with boxes, according to Ventura County officials.
Shocking Home Depot surveillance footage shows Eber Bonilla Lopez of Pomona – one of the main “booster crew” members – using a pole to frantically knock down boxes of goods while stuffing electrical breakers, each worth $100, into his pockets.
Jose Banuelos Guerrero of South Gate and Edwin Rivera of Los Angeles were also boosters – accused of stealing products worth as much as $10,000 on a daily basis, officials said.
Erlin Hernandez Lopez and Denny Hernandez Gomez, both of Pomona, were part of a second booster crew, according to officials.
The nine crime ring members who have been charged face maximum sentences from four to 32 years in state prison. The status of the other five arrested earlier this month is unknown.
More arrests are likely as this case continues, officials said.
