Nine people who allegedly stole more than $20,000 worth of baby formula from Colorado merchants and then sold it at a discount price to consumers have been indicted by the Jefferson County grand jury for racketeering.
According to the indictment, after stealing the baby formula from stores in the Denver metro area and Colorado Springs, the ring used word-of-mouth and the Internet to sell the baby formula at discount prices to consumers.
The ring allegedly stole the formula between January 2008 through March 2009 by going to retail stores, filling shopping carts with the baby formula and then leaving the stores without paying for it.
Other members of the enterprise would then resell the stolen formula through the Internet or private sales.
Those named in the indictment are Tam Huynh, 45; Thuy (Tien) Nguyen, 38; Do Hieu, 37; Erica Martinez, 26; Joseph Nieto, 21; Matthew Nieto, 27; Vinh Van Vu, 28; Hahn Thi Tran, 39; and Kieu Tri Huynh, 47.
Tam Huynh and Thuy Nguyen are suspected of acting as the “fences,” finding buyers and handling the sale and distribution of the stolen baby formula, according to the Jefferson County district attorney’s office.
The operation came to the attention of law enforcement after investigators at Target, which suffered the greatest losses, noticed the repeated theft of baby formula.
Pam Russell, spokeswoman for the Jefferson County DA’s office, said DA investigators worked closely with both the Lakewood and Aurora police departments for months. The first indictment was returned in June, and two additional indictments were returned last week.
The money earned by the theft ring was shared by the group’s members for daily living expenses, gambling and illegal drugs, according to Russell.
Among the stores targeted were Safeway, Albertsons, King Soopers, Wal-Mart and Target.
Huynh and Nguyen also were charged with possession of a forged instrument.
According to Russell, when investigators searched the house they were living in, which is believed to be the base of the operation, they found forged or counterfeit U.S. and Vietnamese currency, uncut bills, a paper cutter, scanner and color printer.
Seven of the nine suspects have been arrested. Two are still at large.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
