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PHOENIX (AZFamily) — An Arizona man will spend several years behind bars after taking part in an organized retail theft scheme that scammed businesses out of millions of dollars.
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Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced Tuesday that Jared Duke was sentenced to six and a half years in prison.
Duke was charged as part of an extensive crime network that stole from Valley retail stores from January 2018 to December 2024. Mayes said $10 million in stolen merchandise was linked to the network.
Special agents with the attorney general’s office and investigators with the Department of Homeland Security worked with retail loss prevention teams to identify Duke as a suspect.
Investigators said he pocketed over $22,000 in payments by acting as a “booster,” which the FBI defines as a professional shoplifter. In total, retail loss prevention investigators linked Duke to $4,849.60 worth of stolen merchandise.
In March, Duke pleaded guilty to two counts of organized retail theft, two counts of trafficking in stolen property and one count of illegally conducting an enterprise.
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Along with his prison sentence, he must pay back nearly $4,900.
“We don’t tolerate retail theft in Arizona,” Mayes said in a statement. “These crimes aren’t victimless, they hurt local businesses and drive up costs for all of us. Those who engage in organized retail crime will be held accountable under the law.”
Other suspects involved in the scheme have been charged, but their cases are pending.
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