29 people have been charged in a multi-state theft ring that investigators say was being run in Tulsa and cost stores more than $10 million.
The U.S. Attorney’s office and Attorney General’s office announced the charges in a press conference on Thursday morning.
The U.S. Attorney’s office says the investigation started in 2019 when a Tulsa police detective investigated a shoplifting case. That case opened the door to what investigators are calling a criminal enterprise.
Investigators say Linda Bean, was the woman in charge of the theft ring.
They say she would hire people to steal millions of dollars worth of products from stores, and as well as other people who would sell or store the stolen merchandise
They say Bean told the people involved what to steal, what store to go to, how to steal the items and where to take everything.
Authorities say if any of the suspects were ever arrested, she would bail them out to keep them from talking to police.
According to an affidavit, Bean would pay traveling expenses for them to go to other states to steal from stores. It says the stolen goods were largely sold online through places like eBay or Amazon or they were shipped off to other fencing operations in the U.S. to sell them.
Investigators say Bean admitted to running the operation since 2016.
The investigation was a team effort between TPD’s Retail Crimes Unit, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office, U.S. Attorney’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations.
