Trendy LA sneaker boutique at center of sinister multimillion-dollar Nike theft ring
A trio of Los Angeles sneakerheads — including the owner of a popular Melrose Avenue shoe boutique — were hit with federal charges as part of years-long investigation into a sophisticated Nike cargo theft ring.The suspects were among 12 people accused of stealing a staggering $2 million worth of Nike shoes from the company’s North American Logistics Center in Memphis, Tennessee.Among those charged are Bereket Abraham, 39, a co-founder and co-owner of the popular LA sneaker shop Coolkicks, and Jorge Cuellar, 30, an online sneaker reseller and social media personality known as “horehead_sales,” according to the Los Angeles Police Department.The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Tennessee on May 21, alleges the group operated between July 2021 and June 2024, using a surprisingly simple strategy.They would identify coveted Nike products inside the warehouse, place fraudulent shipping labels on the boxes, reroute them to predetermined locations around the country, then retrieve and resell the merchandise for profit, according the US Attorney’s Office. Authorities said the operation relied on help from six now-former Nike employees who allegedly played roles in moving the stolen products out of the warehouse and into the resale market.The LAPD said the investigation gained momentum after officers arrested Roy Lee Harvey Jr., 39, of LA, in January 2024 on state charges of receiving stolen property.That arrest led LAPD investigators to join forces with the FBI, ultimately uncovering what prosecutors describe as an ambitious multi-state conspiracy.According to investigators, Harvey and Abraham allegedly conspired to print UPS shipping labels using equipment and a UPS account associated with Abraham and Coolkicks. After the shipments arrived, prosecutors allege Abraham and Cuellar paid Harvey and other co-conspirators more than $900,000 for the stolen shoes before selling them online and through the trendy Melrose sneaker shop to customers who all...