A federal grand jury has returned an indictment against 12 individuals alleged to have stolen at least $2 million in Nike products over a three-year period.
The 12 people were charged in the Western District of Tennessee with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property. One defendant was charged with interstate transportation of stolen property.
The individuals targeted Nike’s North American Logistics Center in Memphis, Tenn.
“Memphis is proudly known as ‘America’s Distribution Center’ and organized cargo theft conspiracies disrupt and harm crucial interstate commerce and businesses here in West Tennessee and across America,” said U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant. “In order to protect the critical economic and logistics infrastructure of Memphis, we will always aggressively prosecute those who threaten it.”
The indictment alleges that between July 2021 and June 2024, the defendants worked to transport stolen Nike retail product throughout the United States.
The defendants would identify product that they wanted to resell, locate it in the Nike warehouse, and place shipping labels to predetermined locations throughout the United States where they would retrieve and resell the stolen product.
“Organized cargo theft doesn’t just steal products – it steals time, trust, and profitability across the entire supply chain,” said Special Agent in Charge Terence Reilly of the FBI Nashville Field Office. “Those who conspire to disrupt commerce and harm consumers will be met with a coordinated law enforcement response. The FBI’s Cargo Theft Task Force is committed to ridding our supply chains of organized crime and will relentlessly pursue those who seek to exploit or disrupt it.”
The FBI Nashville Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the FBI Chicago Field Office and the FBI Los Angeles Field Office. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker.
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