A man and woman from Southern California were recently indicted for conspiracy and ten counts of wire fraud related to an organized retail theft scheme involving stores in Federal Way, Tacoma, Seattle and others, according to U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.

Jalen Amir Thomas, 27, of Santa Monica, California, and Armia Ta’Jae Timmons, 25, of Los Angeles, were arrested on the 11-count indictment. They appeared in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California on May 3. Prosecutors will ask for them to be detained and transported to the Western District of Washington for arraignment.

“Organized retail theft has exploded across the country, due in large part to the growth of an online resale marketplace,” said Brown. “In this case, we allege the co-conspirators hatched a scheme to rent high-value construction equipment and then fail to return it. They allegedly sold the stolen goods on websites such as OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace.”

Brown added that the pair traveled through 23 different states and hit nearly 200 stores causing more than $800,000 in losses. “We are putting a stop to it here in Western Washington,” he said.

“As the US retail sector faces increasing challenges such as layoffs and store closings, it becomes more difficult for stores to absorb the impact of retail fraud, which amounts to billions of dollars in losses,” said SAC Robert Hammer, who oversees HSI operations in the Pacific Northwest. “HSI is proud to have started a strategic initiative with the Seattle Police Department and various corporate partners in 2023 to hold those involved in organized retail theft accountable for their actions.”

Beginning in March 2022, Thomas allegedly led a group including Timmons, that traveled the U.S., stopping at home improvement stores and renting two types of expensive construction equipment, according to the indictment.

The group reportedly stole multiple items of equipment from stores in Federal Way, Tacoma, Vancouver, Covington, Longview, Bothell, Everett, Redmond and Seattle.

The equipment, such as jumping jack tampers and vibratory plate compactors, are valued between $1,500 and $2,000 each.

The retail theft group used debit cards to make a small rental deposit for each machine and signed an agreement that if the equipment was not returned on time, they would pay mounting fees. They used false identities and ruse telephone numbers to rent the equipment, then transported stolen goods in vans and rental trucks.

In all, some 480 pieces of equipment were stolen from the home improvement stores. When a store tried to charge the debit account for the value of the equipment or the penalties incurred, it learned there were insufficient funds to cover the debt.

Thomas and Timmons allegedly attempted to sell the stolen equipment at a steep discount on various online marketplaces.

Because the deposits traveled by wire outside the state of Washington, the pair is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and ten counts of wire fraud and/or aiding and abetting wire fraud, according to the indictment. The conspiracy count and the wire fraud counts are each punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The investigation is being led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Watts Staniar.