BOSTON (AP) – Three people were charged Thursday with stealing merchandise from a variety of stores, then returning the goods for credit and reselling the credit online for a $200,000 profit.
Herion Karbunara, 24, of Woburn, and Lindsey Holland, 19, and Helen Macy, 20, both of Boston, pleaded innocent at their arraignments in Woburn District Court on a variety of charges of larceny, receiving stolen property and conspiracy.
Karbunara, the alleged ring leader, was ordered held on $25,000 cash bail, while Macy was ordered held on $200 bail and Holland was released on personal recognizance.
Attorney General Thomas Reilly said the arrests were the culmination of an undercover investigation into the online theft ring, which allegedly netted $200,000 in profits. Authorities were tipped in September by a retailer, who noticed one of their store credits was being auctioned after merchandise that appeared to have been stolen was returned.
Karbunara enlisted the help of others to steal merchandise from retailers, including Williams-Sonoma, Talbots, Sharper Image and others, officials said. The merchandise was stolen and returned to stores in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and Connecticut.
Investigators found that Karbunara, using the name “apolonia1trading,” had posted more than 600 store credits for sale. Authorities say he made 76 cents for every dollar he stole, earning more than $200,000.
The three were scheduled to return to court on Jan. 7.
AP-ES-12-11-03 1739EST
Send questions/comments to the editors.
