A previous religious leader from Florida is facing charges for leading a large-scale theft operation across multiple counties in the state. Florida’s top legal official, Ashley Moody, remarked that this religious leader ignored the moral teaching against stealing.
Robert Dell, 56, along with four others, was caught for taking goods valued over $1.4 million from various Home Depot stores and selling them on eBay using the alias ‘Anointed Liquidator.’ This online shop has a perfect customer satisfaction score and has sold over 35,000 items in the last ten years.
Dell is charged with serious crimes such as organized crime involvement, plotting to engage in organized crime, and handling stolen goods as the leader.
Previously, Dell led The Rock Church and Recovery Program, a place supporting individuals overcoming drug issues in St. Petersburg, Florida. The legal authorities claim Dell exploited his role to involve others in his illegal activities.
The Rock Church and Recovery Program have clarified that Dell is no longer associated with them. Their website states that Dell has not been their leader for over two and a half years.
Daniel Mace and Jessica Wild, who worked with Dell, are accused of repeatedly stealing from hardware stores and bringing the stolen items to Dell’s residence for online sale.
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The investigation also named Jaclyn Dell, Dell’s spouse, and Karen Dell, his mother, as part of the scheme. They helped in gathering, shipping, and managing the finances of the stolen goods.
Jaclyn is accused of being part of a group that broke the law under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), while Karen is charged with handling stolen goods. The attorney general’s office believes that Robert Dell, the main suspect, ran this illegal operation for over 10 years, causing a loss of more than $5 million.
The authorities dismantled this alleged criminal operation with the help of the Florida Organized Retail Crime Exchange (FORCE), a task force created by Attorney General Moody to tackle retail crime. Since 2019, over 300 defendants have faced charges in Florida related to more than 90 cases of organized retail theft, with a conviction rate close to 100%.
Attorney General Moody emphasized that their FORCE task force successfully shut down Dell’s operation, which involved stealing valuable merchandise from Home Depot stores across the state and reselling it on eBay. They are committed to combating organized retail theft in Florida.
People May Ask
Did Home Depot track a crime ring?
Yes, Home Depot tracked a crime ring for seven months, which led to the discovery of an unlikely suspect reportedly at the head of the operation.
What is Home Depot doing about theft?
Home Depot has implemented several measures to combat theft, including locking up high-value items, using shopping carts that lock when customers haven’t paid, installing license-plate-recognition cameras in parking lots, and creating a portal where employees can report crimes.
How much did Home Depot lose to theft?
While Home Depot does not publicly disclose the exact amount lost to theft each year, experts estimate that retailers typically lose about $750,000 worth of goods for each $1 billion in revenue. Based on this, Home Depot’s annual losses could be around $81 million.
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