Five Miami-Dade men are facing charges in connection with a large-scale retail theft scheme that involved dozens of thefts across 13 Florida counties, authorities said.
Maike Acosta De Armas, 47, Lazaro Santiago Acosta De Armas, 45, Yusser Echemendia Rodriguez, 42, Elias Ramos Hernandez, 48, and Honasi Diaz Santos, 47, are facing multiple felony charges including organized scheme to defraud of $50,000 or more and retail theft of multiple items, Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials said Tuesday.
Officials said their investigation began in July 2022 when FDLE Miami agents reviewed a criminal complaint provided by a company’s organized retail crime investigator.
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The complaint alleged that the operation spanned multiple Florida counties, resulting in thousands of dollars in losses.
FDLE identified 53 theft incidents in 13 Florida counties, including Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Indian River, Lee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach, Sarasota, St. Lucie, and Volusia, officials said.
Officials said the scheme involved the suspects stealing items they claimed to have already purchased online, or returning stolen merchandise to stores in different locations using online receipts, officials said.
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The scheme led to more than $55,000 in losses for the company, whose name wasn't released.
"This criminal group committed more than 53 thefts in 13 Florida counties, stealing thousands worth of merchandise in a fraudulent systematic scheme," Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said in a statement. "In Florida, we go after organized retail thieves, and now this nefarious group, thanks to the work of our law enforcement partners, will be held accountable for their crimes."
Lazaro Santiago Acosta De Armas was arrested by Miami-Dade Police earlier this year on unrelated charges and was booked in the Metro West Detention Center without bond.
Echemendia Rodriguez was arrested by the Broward Sheriff’s Office on March 25, and booked into the Broward County Jail without bond.
Maike Acosta De Armas and Ramos Hernandez were arrested on March 27 and booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Detention Center without bond.
Diaz Santos was in the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections.
