How Nike insiders were charged with conspiring to steal millions of dollars' worth of sneakers
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Set us as preferred One day last fall, Roy Lee Harvey got into a Lyft in Phoenix and headed across town.He and the driver started chatting, and authorities say Harvey told the man about his work buying high-end Nike sneakers from shoe companies and reselling them for a healthy profit.The Lyft driver thought it sounded like a good business opportunity, so the two men exchanged numbers and later met up at an apartment in nearby Scottsdale, where, according to police investigators, Harvey showed him into a room strewn with different pairs of Nikes and their cardboard boxes.The most coveted shoe models, which the company manufactures in limited runs, can fetch three or four times more than their retail value on the resale market.
Reselling sneakers has become a multibillion-dollar global industry.Social media influencers generate hype through unboxing videos that draw millions of views.
Fashionistas known as sneakerheads scramble to buy and trade the latest styles, paying a premium for the rarest pairs.Some treat them as investments, never wearing their purchases in order to keep them in mint condition.
Like a sports car or a fine wine, they say, the value of shoes can increase as they get older.Harvey’s collection was so vast that the Lyft driver became suspicious, according to a police search warrant affidavit reviewed by The Times.
After leaving the apartment, police said, the driver googled Harvey and found that he faced multiple state felony charges in California for allegedly running an extensive sneaker theft ring.Last week, federal authorities added another case against Harvey, unsealing an indictment that charged him and several major shoe resellers in Los Angeles, Chicago and Indiana with paying Nike employees to help steal hundreds of hard-to-find styles that they in turn flipped.Harvey has pleaded not guilty.
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