Businessman Sentenced For Role In Crestwood Fencing Operation

CRESTWOOD, IL – A businessman was handed a more than 2-year sentence in federal prison for fencing stolen electronics out of his Crestwood store. Ziad Zayed, 49, of Frankfort, pleaded guilty last year to charges of conspiracy to receive, possess, conceal, store, barter, sell, and dispose of stolen property valued at over $5,000, knowing the property had been stolen, according to the federal complaint.

Zayed, also known as “Abe Zayed,” along with brother Mosas I. Zayed, 36, also known as “Musah” and “Musa,” owned and operated Crestwood Electronics Inc., 13314 S. Cicero Ave., Crestwood. The two were accused of receiving and disposing of stolen property to resellers across state lines from their Crestwood storefront and other businesses.

Crestwood Electronics was under surveillance from September 2019 to June 2021. The Zayeds, along with other co-conspirators, used What’s App to spread the word of their willingness to buy stolen and fraudulently purchased goods for cash.

>>> 2 Frankfort Men Charged With Running 'Fencing Operation': Feds

Some of the items fenced by Zayed included laptop computers, fitness tracking devices, and digital cameras, some of which were stolen from railcars near Chicago, the feds said.

The people who sold goods to Zayed and his brother of allegedly buying goods they knew were stolen, a federal agent said.

Zayad and his brother were also accused of selling high-end electronics devices well beneath retail and used multiple false identities which were shipped to other states and overseas on an almost daily basis from Crestwood Electronics via Federal Express.

The largest theft appears to have occurred on or about Oct. 7, 2020, according to the original federal complaint, approximately $860,000 worth of electronic fitness tracking devices. The feds allege that the devices were heisted from a rail car traveling near Chicago. By the end of that day, the Zayeds had the devices repackaged and reshipped within days of the theft, according to the complaint.

Other heists from Chicago-area railcars noted in the complaint included:

• September, 2020: 151 laptops with an estimated value of $65,000 according to company claims.
• September, 2020: 566 laptops stolen from a railyard in Hodgkins, Illinois with an estimated value around $135,000 according to company claims.
• September, 2020: 150 digital cameras stolen from a railyard in Hodgkins, Illinois with an estimated value around $320,000 according to company claims.

The investigation into the store was triggered in April 2021 when an undercover agent wearing a wire walked into Crestwood Electronics. The agent told the Zayeds that he had 12 new Apple iPhone minis. The complaint said Zayed agreed to purchase the iPhone minis for $545 each. The retail price was $699.

An agent returned to the store wearing a wire to sell nearly 40 Apple Airpods. According to the complaint, the Zayeds were willing to buy and resell them. The agent also told Ziad Zayed that he could get more electronic products for him for free because he was stealing them. The feds said Ziad agreed to buy the stolen goods and how much he would pay for them.

According to the complaint, Zayed was also tied to 238 cellular phones, two-thirds of which were brand new Apple iPhones in original packaging. The phones were ready to be shipped to Hong Kong, and included a business address of the Zayed brothers.

Another individual told investigators that from January to May 2021, they used fraudulently acquired credit card information to obtain approximately 50 air purifiers and resell the devices for cash at a local electronics store. One of those companies was reportedly owned by the Zayed brothers, the complaint said. The air purifiers were reportedly sold at a price of $400 to $450.

Crestwood Electronics was also said to have had a reputation for fencing stolen goods for cash, the feds said.

U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman sentenced Zayed on to two years and four months in federal prison and ordered him to pay more than $1.3 million in restitution.

“By providing a marketplace to sell stolen goods, the defendant has incentivized thieves to steal and rob, whether that’s off tractor trailers sitting on railcars or phones from innocent victims,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Barry Jonas and Ann Marie E. Ursini argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.