$7.5 Million In Shoplifted Merchandise Found In Bust Of Interstate Fencing Ring: Police

WILMETTE, IL — Police said an investigation into a pattern of shoplifting at local businesses led to the discovery of a coast-to-coast fencing ring trading in merchandise stolen from Chicago area retailers.

Last week, investigators executed a dozen search warrants in Chicagoland — including locations in Chicago, Cicero, Oak Lawn and Bolingbrook — and three in Southern California, police said.

They discovered $7.5 million worth of stolen items as well as other evidence of what Wilmette police described as a "sophisticated criminal enterprise."

Police found 126 pallets loaded with about 278,000 individual stolen items, according to Cmdr. Michael Robinson.

Robinson said the investigation began last fall, but the fencing ring had been in operation since at least 2020, if not earlier.

---

"Basically, all our retailers were experiencing the same crime pattern," Robinson said. "The same offenders, these professional retail theft boosters, that were just going around stealing an incredible amount of products and selling them down in Chicago."

After stealing over-the-counter products like allergy medication and tooth whitening strips, usually more than $1,000 worth a time, shoplifters would bring the stolen goods to storefronts in Chicago and sell it to members of the fencing ring for pennies on the dollar, police said.

---

Then, members of the ring would take the merchandise to various other locations throughout the Chicago area and remove any information identifying the store where it had been stolen before packaging it in pallets and shipping it across the country — with about half headed to New York and half to California, Robinson said.

"In New York, it was being sold to third-party distributors which would then put it back in the supply chain," he said. "So some of these major retailers were actually buying some of their stolen product back inadvertently."

The other half were sold by a trio of Southern California men using e-commerce platforms.

Early in the investigation, police linked thefts at Wilmette Walgreens, CVS and Mariano's stores to similar incidents in Shorewood, which led to a cooperative investigation between both departments and eight recent arrests — five in Illinois and three in California — on Will County charges related to the fencing ring, according to police.

---

Iaad H. Hamad, 48, of the 5200 block of South Oak Street, Oak Lawn, was charged with organizing a continuing financial crimes enterprise, money laundering, felony theft and failure to file an income tax return and also remains jailed ahead of his Oct. 26 appearance unless he posts $100,000 cash.

Hani H. Hamad, 51, of the 4300 block of South Rockwell Avenue, Chicago, was charged with money laundering, wire fraud, filing a fraudulent income tax return and felony theft and was ordered held at the Will County Jail unless he can post the $100,000 cash portion of his bond ahead of his next court appearance Oct. 26.

Michael O. Beals, 41, of the 700 block of Barclay Drive, Bolingbrook, was charged with one count of continuing financial crimes enterprise and one count of failure to file an income tax return. He posted the $50,000 cash portion of his bond and is due back in court Oct. 26.

Fe Keisha L. Hamlin, 41, also of the 700 block of Barclay Drive, Bolingbrook, was charged with money laundering, felony theft and filing a fraudulent income tax return. She posted the $25,000 cash portion of her bond and is due back in court Oct. 26.

Markell Spencer, 35, of the 3300 block of West Roosevelt Road, Chicago, was charged with continuing financial crimes enterprise and money laundering conspiracy. He posted the $25,000 cash portion of his bond and is due back in court Oct. 26.

Dylan Bryant, 28, of the 100 block of Gardenview in Irvine, California; Donald Kimball, 27, of the first block of Gramercy in Irvine, California; and Brett F. Pendleton, 26, of the 800 block of Paularino Avenue in Costa Mesa, California, were all charged with felony theft, money laundering and money laundering conspiracy. Bryant and Pendleton posted $75,000 cash, Kimball posted $50,000 cash and all three must come to Illinois to face the charges.

---

Police said members of the ring tried to hide the money they were making from the scheme with "numerous accounts" at multiple bands and financial institutions and used their ill-gotten gains to buy multiple homes.

No attorney information for those charged was immediately available Wednesday.

Chicago police assisted with undercover operations at the storefront locations, according to Wilmette police.

The investigation was also assisted by Homeland Security Investigations, the Chicago Highway Patrol's organized retail theft task force, the Will County State's Attorney's Office and Police Assistance Team and the Illinois Departments of Revenue and State Police.

Police said the probe was also aided by representatives of Walgreens, Target and the retail crime units of CVS and Kroger's.