Three Maryland individuals charged for leading roles in international organized theft ring

Date: Oct. 10, 2024

Contact: [email protected]

Greenbelt, MD - On Oct. 7, 2024, Sindy Paola Hernandez of Hyattsville, Maryland, Johnsie Steven Reina Hernandez of Hyattsville, Maryland, and Edwin Gonzalez Rodriguez of Hyattsville, Maryland, were charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen goods. The charges involve a large-scale organized retail theft ring, wherein conspirators stole cosmetic and other products from various retail establishments and provided them to Hernandez, Reina Hernandez, and Gonzalez Rodriguez. As outlined in the affidavit in support of the complaint, it is alleged that these individuals then shipped the stolen products to other countries, including Honduras.

The charges are announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Kareem A. Carter of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Special Agent in Charge Michael S. McCarthy of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Chief Marc R. Yamada of the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD).

According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, in November 2022, retail investigators including Target, Ulta Beauty, CVS, and Walmart began an investigation after large-scale thefts occurred targeting premium skincare products, vitamins, and cold/cough medicine. The investigation revealed that the thefts were committed by various individuals referred to as "boosters." The boosters frequently indicated that they were selling the stolen products to Hernandez, who resided in Prince George's County. In turn, Hernandez, Reina Hernandez, and Gonzalez Rodriguez would store and sort the products at their residences and storage units, and then ship the stolen products to Honduras.

A complaint is not a finding of guilt. All defendants charged by complaint are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multiagency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended IRS-CI, HSI, MCPD, and the various retail establishments, for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly O. Hayes and Dawn Williams, who are prosecuting the federal case.

IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a more than a 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad.