A charge filed in Minnesota District Court accuses a couple from Connecticut of stealing approximately $1 million worth of products from Lululemon locations nationwide.
Charged with organized retail theft on November 14, Jadion Richards, 44, and Akwele Lawes-Richards, 45, were taken into custody inside a Lululemon store in Woodbury, Minnesota. The complaint claims that the couple and an unnamed guy had gone to another Lululemon store in Roseville, Minnesota, the previous day, where they reportedly took about $5,000 worth of merchandise.
According to the lawsuit, the pair and the organized crime gang they work for have been stealing from Lululemon stores nationwide since September, according to an investigator for the firm. The theft has cost the company close to $1 million.
According to the investigator, Richards usually enters the business first and makes a few small purchases as part of the couple’s suspected larceny strategy. After removing a security sensor from another item in the store and attaching it to the tiny items Richards bought, Richards and Lawes-Richards would take further products and hide them under their jackets and clothing.
According to the complaint, Richards would provide the staff his bag containing the tiny item he had purchased with a sensor attached when the store’s security sensor beeped, and Lawes-Richards and a third individual would leave with the stolen items before Richards. After that, the couple would exchange the pilfered goods at a different retailer without a receipt.
Tristen Shields, vice president of asset security at Lululemon, stated in a statement that the firm is dedicated to “creating a safe and secure environment” for employees and customers.
“This outcome continues to underscore our ongoing collaboration with law enforcement and our investments in advanced technology, team training and investigative capabilities to combat retail crime and hold offenders accountable,” Shields continued. “We remain dedicated to continuing these efforts to address and prevent this industry-wide issue.”
Officers secured a search warrant for a room Richards had booked at a J.W. Marriott in Bloomington, Minnesota, following their arrest on November 14. In the room were suitcases filled with an estimated $50,000 worth of Lululemon apparel.
Online records show that Richards and Lawes-Richards were both booked into the Ramsey County Jail on November 14. Richards was freed on $100,000 bail on Thursday, while Lawes-Richards was freed on $30,000 bail on Tuesday. According to the attorney’s office in Ramsey County, both are required to complete weekly check-ins as part of their release.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by the couple’s lawyers. December 16 is the date of their upcoming court appearance.
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