NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WISH) — One man was convicted and five of his co-conspirators pleaded guilty to stealing millions of dollars in electronics from shipping facilities.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Indiana said that 51-year-old Juan D. Perez-Gonzalez, from Florida, was found guilty for stealing the goods from southern Indiana’s shipping facilities and cargo trucks. He was charged with conspiracy, possession of stolen goods and transporting them across state lines.
Five others pleaded guilty, including Carlos Enrique Freire-Pifferrer, 46; Jose Antonia Gomez-Pifferrer, 33; Dalwy De Armas-Roriguez, 38; Luis Velazquez, 58; and Richard Alameda, 47. The men are from Louisville, Kentucky and Florida.
Court documents say the organized thefts were between Dec. 2021 and May 2023. The group would steal tractor-trailers with “commercially available, high end electronics and other items, which they later resold at a discount for profit,” a press release says.
They would travel across Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio to target distribution facilities for major companies like Meta and Microsoft.
Before hitting each location, the group would scout out the facility. Then they would stalk semi trucks that left and once the driver got out to rest or refuel, the men stole the entire tractor-trailer, court documents say.
To evade police, the group swapped trailers to different semi trucks and would paint over logos and identifying numbers.
“They transported the stolen cargo to Miami, Florida, where it was sold to buyers, including co-defendant Richard Alameda, from a fraction of its retail value,” court documents say. “The group carried out at least 14 separate cargo thefts…”
$2 million in Meta Oculus virtual reality headsets were stolen, $940,000 in Microsoft products, $1 million in Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret merchandise, $669,000 in Harmon-JBL audio gadgets, $180,000 in Logitech products, $480,000 in Bose audio speakers, and other unlisted stolen items.
Perez-Gonzalez has two other prior convictions for similar thefts in in southern Indiana.
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