12 In $3.6M Theft Ring Face Racketeering Charges

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — Prosecutors say a dozen defendants stole expensive items from several metro Atlanta retailers and sold the goods on eBay to pocket at least $3.6 million, leading to a racketeering indictment.

The Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office on Thursday announced the indictment against the group of 12 for charges of conspiracy to participate in an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity and acquiring property through a pattern of racketeering activity.

Prosecutors said the following people were indicted:

• Supachok Sae-Ly, 45
• Kannika Sae-Ly, 48
• Hugo Teng, 52
• Taurus Lamont Brown, 48
• Shafia Herd-Davis, 43
• Austin Green, 30
• Deshawn Shaquille Hamilton, 28
• Matthew Mitchell, III, 53
• John Casey Rooks, 39
• Ramond Louis Rodriguez, 59
• Hannah Storme Taylor, 30
• James Cecil Watkins, 67

The indictment comes after a two-year investigation, prosecutors said. The suspect thefts took place from March 2020-March 2024, prosecutors said.

The eBay account, Super Super Deals LLC, belonged to Kannika Sae-Ly, prosecutors said. More than 21,000 transactions were made from the account, and all items sold were stolen, prosecutors said.

Her husband, Supachok Sae-Ly, and Teng are accused of partnering with nine others to steal items from Gwinnett County retailers, such as: Home Depot, Target, Kohls and TJ Maxx; as well as, Macy's and other outlets across the metro.

Prosecutors said the following defendants, who were either alone or with a lookout, filled shopping carts with expensive items and tried to leave without paying: Rodriguez, Taylor, Watkins, Rooks, Mitchell, Brown, Herd-Davis, Green and Hamilton.

If store security stopped them, prosecutors said they left the items and fled the scene. On the other hand, prosecutors said if they were able to leave the stores with the items, they loaded the products into cars and met with Teng and Supachok Sae-Ly at a preset location.

Then, prosecutors said Teng and Supachok Sae-Ly used their phones to identify the price the items were selling for on eBay and pay the group half of the anticipated profit per item.

“These types of crimes, especially at a sum of over $3 million, have an impact on the average consumer because they cause the affected retailers to raise their prices,” Gwinnett District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said in a news release. “We’re bringing these racketeering charges to ensure that these individuals don’t get away with these crimes.”