A sophisticated organized retail theft ring operating from a Glendale home has been taken down by Phoenix Police, resulting in three indictments on a host of charges including fraud and trafficking in stolen property. According to FOX 10 Phoenix, the operation was helmed by Nephtali Santiago-Garcia and Yuli Esther Degante Vigueras, a married couple who transformed their living room into an illicit storefront. They reportedly sold goods stolen from Bath and Body Works and other retailers amounting to several hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The scheme included a third accomplice, Marcos Hernandez-Ortega, a delivery truck driver who was indicted on two charges for stealing cargo intended for retail stores and diverting them to the couple for resale. "His job was to pick up cargo shipments at a local warehouse in Phoenix, and he was supposed to deliver them to the stores," Detective Mark Holtzen of the Phoenix Police Department explained in a statement obtained by FOX 10 Phoenix, "He did that for the most part, but then he started stealing from his route so that it can be trafficked through Yuli and Nephtali."
Investigators have been tracking the thefts back to 2023, eventually uncovering over $350,000 worth of merchandise from Bath and Body Works within the couple's home. The suspects advertised the ill-gotten goods on multiple online platforms such as OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, and TikTok, inviting customers to their home and providing a shopping experience eerily similar to legitimate retail, complete with tissue-wrapped products in store bags, as reported by FOX 10 Phoenix.
The investigation, which spanned through 2023 and 2024, also found that Hernandez received more than $72,000 in payments from the Santiago-Garcia and Degante Vigueras for providing the stolen merchandise. In addition to Bath and Body Works, the stolen items were sourced from stores like Old Navy, Victoria's Secret, Gap, and Banana Republic. According to ABC 15, the resale operation trafficked more than a dozen times between 2023 and 2024, causing substantial financial damage to the affected retailers.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell has announced the charges, stating, "Mr. Santiago Garcia was indicted on 20 charges, Mrs. Degante Vigueras was indicted on 10 charges and Mr. Hernandez Ortega was indicted on two charges," as reported by FOX 10 Phoenix. The arrests signal a sizable victory for local law enforcement in the ongoing battle against organized retail theft in the Phoenix area.
