Two sisters are charged with organized retail theft in Maricopa County after prosecutors claim they stole over $75,000 in cosmetics from over a dozen Ulta Beauty locations throughout the Valley.
Police said Ivonne Buitrago-Cabrera and Yoraima Buitrago-Cabrera entered Ulta stores, loaded cosmetics into bags, and fled 13 locations over three days in July.
A Phoenix police official claimed the two are Colombian sisters who stole over $155,000 from stores in Arizona and California.
According to Karl De La Guerra, an international security consultant, retailers continue to struggle with stopping this form of crime.
“It’s very difficult for these stores to stop, again, because of the frequency that these incidents occur,” De La Guerra added.
Between January and the end of June, police agencies filed 344 organized retail crime cases with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for prosecution. Both the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office have task forces focused to this type of criminal activity.
David Lake, CEO of the Center on Shadow Economics and a retired Phoenix police sergeant, stated that the scope of the problem is expanding.
“Organized retail crime in mass at scale is outrunning the government’s ability to deal with it exponentially,” Lake added.
Lake stated that beauty products are frequently targeted because of their resale potential.
“Beauty products, like tobacco, alcohol, and medicine, are both consumable and attractive. So we can determine what the market is,” Lake explained.
Lake stated that criminals strive to resell stolen things, and the consequences go beyond the crime itself. He explained that product losses can cost workers their jobs and drive businesses away from entire communities. Lake stated that law enforcement must find innovative ways to devote more resources to retail crime.
“The economic realities of crime inevitably come to light. Do they come to light in time to effect change? “We don’t see that change in the other major cities,” he said.
Ivonne Buitrago-Cabrera and Yoraima Buitrago-Cabrera are each facing nine counts of organized retail theft. Police said the four additional incidents were uncovered after the initial charges were filed. Police also believe the two ladies are involved in thefts from Lacoste, Adidas, Puma, and Crocs retailers.
The two are being detained on $75,000 cash-only bonds for their Arizona cases.
Organized retail theft is a class four felony in Arizona, with prison sentences ranging from a year to nearly four years.
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