SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. — Six individuals were arrested following the bust of a large-scale retail theft and fraud operation, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities identified the suspects as: Thanh Vo, 23, of San Jose; Corey Guting, 37, of Milpitas; Erik Nguyen, 45, of San Jose; Ye Zhang, 37, of Monterey Park; De Lu, 25; and Yan Wong, 32, of Campbell.
They face charges including organized retail theft, financial elder abuse, theft by false pretenses, possession of stolen property, and conspiracy.
The investigation, which began in June, uncovered a sophisticated network trafficking millions of dollars’ worth of stolen merchandise while exploiting elderly victims nationwide.
On Tuesday, deputies executed five coordinated search warrants at residences, storage units, and a warehouse in San Jose and Campbell. These locations served as storage, drop-off, and distribution centers for stolen goods.
Among the recovered items were over a dozen box truckloads of Home Depot merchandise valued at more than $1 million, as well as 100 totes of stolen wine bottles, many of which were returned to Target.
Investigators also uncovered a nationwide fraud scheme targeting older adults through phone and online scams, coercing victims into buying high-value gift cards from retailers such as Home Depot and Lowe’s and providing card information to the scammers. Officials estimate that more than $10,000 in fraudulent gift card purchases occurred daily at Bay Area retail stores over several months.
Retailers including Home Depot, Target, Lowe’s, and Sports are inventorying the recovered property, much of which is expected to be returned to stores.
