Signet Helps Break Up Identity Theft Scheme

By Rob Bates | May 19, 2025

On April 24, federal authorities charged three men with felony identity theft, after Signet Jewelers’ fraud department reported suspected cases to the authorities.

According to a statement from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the three suspects applied for store credit cards with stolen identities, then used them to purchase merchandise with no intention of paying the bills.

All in all, the suspects fraudulently obtained over $100,000 worth of merchandise from jewelers and other retailers between March and July 2023, the statement said. The scheme was purportedly carried out in seven California counties: Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara.

A Signet fraud investigator referred the case to law enforcement, leading to an extensive collaboration involving ICE and state and local authorities.

A complaint against the three men, unsealed April 18 in California federal court, contains 34 felony charges, including grand theft and unauthorized use of personal information.

“This was not a one-off shoplifting offense—it was a malicious, coordinated scheme,” said California attorney general Rob Bonta in a statement. “These crimes hurt our businesses and pose a serious threat to our communities.”

He added: “I am thankful to Signet Jewelers as well as our local and state law enforcement partners for their collaboration in the battle against organized retail crime. We will not give up until we put a stop to this criminal activity all together.”

A Signet spokesperson tells JCK: “We want to thank the law enforcement agencies involved in dismantling the identity theft mill.”

The spokesperson says Signet has also been working with the National Retail Federation to lobby Congress to pass the newly introduced Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025. The bipartisan bill, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), would establish a federal coordination center within the Department of Homeland Security focusing on organized retail and supply chain theft; improve data-sharing and investigative collaboration across jurisdictions and between local, state, and federal agencies and private sector organizations; and expand criminal penalties and tools to prosecute organized theft groups and their evolving methods of criminal activity.

The defendants’ lawyer could not be reached for comment by press time.

Top: A suspect being taken into custody (photo courtesy of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)