Man sentenced for role in $2 million retail theft scheme spanning Phoenix, Tucson

PHOENIX — A man was sentenced on Feb. 20 to over three years in prison for his role in a retail theft and trafficking scheme that targeted stores across the Phoenix and Tucson areas to the tune of roughly $2 million.

Multiple locations of Walmart, Target and Fry’s Food Stores were victimized, according to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.

Prosecutors said Miller was working with a middleman on the East Coast who had paid him approximately $450,000 for packages of stolen goods received.

Some of the money obtained was through “knowingly … false pretenses,” according to the indictment.

Sentencing details for man involved in Arizona retail theft scheme

Miller was indicted on 35 counts by a grand jury on Aug. 5, 2024. He pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulent schemes and artifices and one count of illegally conducting an enterprise on Feb. 6.

He was sentenced to 39 months in prison to be followed by five years of probation and ordered to pay $75,000 in restitution to victims and forfeit all items.

Other co-conspirators remain under investigation.

“We will not tolerate organized retail theft enterprises that steal from our businesses and communities,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a press release. “My office will continue working with our law enforcement partners to identify, prosecute and hold accountable those who profit from this kind of criminal activity.”

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