Overview
- Federal prosecutors unsealed the indictment Tuesday charging 12 people with a multi-year conspiracy to transport stolen Nike merchandise across state lines.
- The indictment alleges the ring stole at least $2 million in product from Nike’s Memphis logistics center between July 2021 and June 2024.
- Prosecutors say six alleged co-conspirators were Nike employees who placed falsified UPS shipping labels on cartons to send merchandise to preset pickup locations.
- Investigators trace the scheme to a Los Angeles sneaker shop where defendants allegedly used the store’s UPS account and equipment to create labels and then received shipments; one state arrest in January 2024 led LAPD and the FBI to open a joint probe that produced federal arrests in June.
- Prosecutors allege the stolen shoes moved into online and storefront resale channels after intermediaries were paid roughly $900,000, and the case underscores growing cargo-theft threats to supply chains and the use of tracking technology and multiagency teams to fight them.