HARRISBURG, PA — The Attorney General’s Office of Pennsylvania has come forward with serious criminal charges against two individuals believed to have taken nearly $100,000 from Lowe’s stores scattered throughout eastern Pennsylvania via an alleged account takeover scam.
Attorney General Dave Sunday stated that Jose Gomez and Ysaias Araujo are facing several felonies, including operating corrupt organizations, engaging in organized retail theft, and theft through unlawful means. While Gomez is currently behind bars, Araujo’s arrest warrant remains active.
Investigators report that the duo reportedly executed at least 56 thefts across 18 different Lowe’s locations in several counties, including Bucks, Lehigh, Luzerne, Northampton, Monroe, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and Pike. Authorities indicated that the suspects used self-service checkout kiosks, leveraging stolen customer account details to complete their purchases.
“These individuals orchestrated an elaborate scheme targeting not only unsuspecting customers but also the Lowe’s stores in many areas,” said Sunday in his announcement. “Such organized retail crime harms consumers, who inevitably have to contend with soaring prices as businesses attempt to recover their losses. I want to commend the tireless efforts of our Organized Crime Section for ensuring accountability in this case.”
The investigation uncovered that Gomez and Araujo used their mobile devices linked to the hacked Lowe’s customer accounts to execute fraudulent transactions. Consequently, authentic customers who later noticed discrepancies on their bills raised disputes with their banks, resulting in financial institutions denying payments to Lowe’s. This left the retailer with a staggering loss of almost $100,000.
The Warrington Township Police Department played a key role in this investigation, which is underway with prosecution led by Deputy Attorney General Noelle Wilkinson from the Organized Retail Crime Unit.
It is crucial to note that these charges reflect allegations, and every defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
