A West Virginia man is accused of organizing a network of shoplifters, many of them drug addicts, to steal thousands of items from stores and reselling them on the internet.
A federal prosecutor says a Cross Lanes man was charged Monday in a criminal complaint with acquiring nearly 3,700 stolen items that were later resold for profit.
The suspect, who is charged with money laundering, allegedly paid cash to the shoplifters for a fraction of the stolen items’ worth.
Prosecutors say nearly $370,000 in goods were stolen from popular grocery stores and pharmacies over a two-year period.
