COSTA MESA, California, USA (AP) – A woman has been charged with grand theft for allegedly stealing more than $ 300,000 worth of merchandise from California retail stores.
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Ekaterina Zharkova, 38, was arrested last month after an investigator with a California Highway Patrol organized retail robbery group caught her stealing merchandise from a Nordstrom Rack store in Costa Mesa.
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When members of the group searched his apartment, they found more than $ 328,000 in stolen merchandise, the Orange County district attorney’s office said in a statement.
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Investigators believe she attempted to sell the stolen merchandise through an online luxury goods consignment store.
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Zharkova was charged with four felonies of grand theft, one felony for receiving stolen property, and seven misdemeanors of petty theft. The woman faces up to nine years in prison if convicted of all charges.
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It is unknown if she has an attorney who can speak on her behalf.
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The charges came amid a series of large-scale robberies in California, in which groups of people suddenly arrive at stores and blatantly steal merchandise in full view.
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“Theft and other retail thefts are out of control across California as a result of reckless laws that have made the risk far less than the potential reward,” said District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “These are not victimless crimes and if you engage in these types of outrageous robbery schemes, we will arrest you, prosecute you and put you behind bars,” he warned.
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In September, Zharkova pleaded not guilty to one count of grand theft and one misdemeanor count of possession of stealing tools, according to court records.
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He also pleaded not guilty in a Los Angeles grand theft case filed in August, the Orange County Register reported.
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