Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the takedown of the criminal enterprise, which investigators say contributed to tens of thousands of dollars in losses to retailers in South, Central, and West Florida between November 2024 and the summer of 2025.
The ring targeted several CVS, Walgreens, Publix, Burlington, and Ulta Beauty locations. Shoplifters, known as "boosters," traveled to stores to fill bags with health and beauty supplies and sold the stolen goods to Naychel Jerez, a Hialeah-based fence.
Jerez resold the merchandise online on platforms like OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace. Search warrants executed at Jerez’s residence recovered $123,966 worth of stolen health and beauty merchandise, anti-theft removal devices, a cash counting machine, and over $51,000 in cash.
The defendants are in custody at the Martin County Jail. Charges include conspiracy to commit racketeering, organized retail theft, dealing in stolen property, and unlawful use of a two-way communications device.
Some of the defendants face a maximum sentence of 80 years in the Florida Department of Corrections. In 2024, Governor DeSantis signed HB 549, which increased penalties for organized retail theft and made certain repeat offenders eligible for 30 years in prison.
The joint investigation was led by the Office of Statewide Prosecution, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. It was carried out with assistance from the Palm Bay Police Department, the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, and the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.
The case will be prosecuted by Assistant Statewide Prosecutors Chris Olowin and Monique Wilson in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida.