A Detroit business owner was charged with his presumed involvement in a SAM club flight and a resale ring, state officials announced.
Sean Allos, 54, was brought to justice in court on Monday before judge Christopher Blount to the third circuit court for a leadership of a criminal business, a crime of 20 years and eight charges of reception and concealment of stolen goods of more than $ 1,000, of a five -year crime.
The resident of the canton of West Bloomfield was charged by Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel in April and was sentenced to trial before the following month, officials announced. He should then appear before the court before judge Darnella Williams-Claybourne on June 30.
In January 2023, the Nessel Force team launched an investigation into an alleged operation of food coupons, which involved illegally obtaining data on electronic benefits (EBT) transfer cards of 8,000 card holders living mainly in other states, mainly California, the authorities said.
Force targets criminal organizations that steal from the products from retailers to reconditioning and sale for a profit, according to the Nessel office.
The operation involving Allos allegedly reproduced the EBT cards in Michigan with the data, and then used it for fraudulent purchases of energy drinks in Metro Detroit Sam club stores, investigators said.
The representatives of the SAM club did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
Reached on Wednesday, Allos lawyer Arthur Jay Weiss, president of the firm Arthur Jay Weiss & Associates PC, said that he calls into question the accuracy of what state officials have disseminated.
“Based on what I have examined so far, the idea that my client is a brain of a multi-state fraudulent ring is not in accordance with what the prosecutor’s office has given us,” said Weiss. “I mean, if their allegation is … my client was a brain of a multi-state organization (and) devotes $ 4 million in fraud, which is not confirmed by the discovery equipment that I have examined.”
Allos would have bought the energy drinks below the market value with the intention of reselling them, officials said.
The ring is responsible for the fraudulent purchase and resale of the thousands of dollars of energy drinks.
“Organized retail crime remains a growing threat to our communities and local businesses,” Nessel said in a statement. “Our strength team continues to work with the partners of the application of laws and retail to investigate and continue these coordinated regimes. My office remains determined to dismantle these criminal operations and to hold the responsible authors. ”
Weiss said he thought that Nessel’s office is trying to “plead” the case through the media. “And this is not what the code of professional responsibility and professionalism indicates with regard to criminal proceedings. It should be pleaded in a courtroom.”
The loads follow probes targeting other flight rings in Michigan.
At the end of March, a man of strait accused of having broken into the cars of the County of Oakland to steal credit cards, drivers licenses and other articles was billed.
A few weeks earlier, three Strait men accused of being part of a ring that stole hundreds of vehicles in southeast Michigan ordered to endure the trial.
Also in February, Two men from Detroit have been accused of being part of an auto flight ring targeting dealers in the counties of Macomb, Oakland and Genesee.