Woman Gets Prison For Role In ‘Hollywood Heist Movie’ Jewelry Theft Ring

MILFORD, CT — A woman accused of participating in a nationwide organized jewelry theft ring, which targeted a local mall retailer, was sentenced this week to two years in prison.

U.S. District Court Judge Kari A. Dooley imposed the sentence Wednesday on Yesenia Melendez Rincon, 41, during a proceeding in Bridgeport.

Melendez Rincon is a citizen of Colombia who most recently lived in Kissimmee, Florida.

According to federal prosecutors, Rincon took part in a jewelry theft ring that targeted mall-based stores and kiosks throughout the country, including a kiosk at the Connecticut Post Mall.

“Echoing aspects of a Hollywood heist movie, Yesenia Melendez Rincon was a member of an organized and prolific conspiracy that zigzagged the country targeting, burglarizing, and fencing millions of dollars of stolen jewelry,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Huang, in a pre-sentencing memorandum.

“In the victims’ own words, this crime has been devastating to them, their livelihoods, and their families,” he added.

The thefts happened between May 2023 and April 2024, court documents show. The Milford burglary was on October 5, 2023, when approximately $273,149 worth of jewelry was stolen from a kiosk which had closed for the day, prosecutors said.

The conspirators also stole valuables in Illinois, New Jersey and Virginia, prosecutors said.

The stolen valuables exceeded $1.3 million in value, and none of the jewelry has been recovered to date, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Prosecutors claim Melendez Rincon cased businesses, served as a lookout during the burglaries, and helped sell stolen jewelry.

“A photo taken in January 2024 and retrieved from Melendez Rincon’s iCloud account shows Melendez Rincon wearing a distinctive heart-shaped ring that was stolen during the Milford, Connecticut, burglary in October 2023,” the U.S. Attorney’s office said, in an announcement.

Prosecutors said her co-conspirators were involved in stealing an additional $3.1 million in jewelry in New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, and New York.

Melendez Rincon’s defense attorney, Joseph W. Martini of Southport, noted in a pre-sentencing memorandum to the court that she “accepted responsibility for her involvement.”

Martini asserted his client played a “small part,” mainly acting as a lookout while others committed the burglaries, and received “very little in return,” considering the government’s claim that the loss exceeded a million dollars.

Melendez Rincon was arrested last year, and she pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count in July 2025. Melendez Rincon faces immigration proceedings when she completes her prison sentence.