2 women charged in Minneapolis Lululemon organized theft ring
MINNEAPOLIS — Two Crystal women have been charged in connection to a theft scheme involving a Minneapolis Lululemon store, which investigators say was thwarted with the help of GPS trackers.
The Hennepin County Attorney's Office says 56-year-old My Hoang Thi Van and 24-year-old Kathy Nguyen are each charged with a count of felony organized retail theft.
According to the criminal complaint, police were first called to the North Loop store in mid-June about multiple thefts. Investigators soon connected them to a 28-year-old woman via surveillance camera footage that showed her taking store bags and filling them with clothes before leaving.
Police put GPS trackers into several store bags, eventually pointing them toward a Crystal nail salon and a residence in Crystal, where both Van and Nguyen reside.
Stakeouts led investigators to observe the 28-year-old woman walking into the salon with Lululemon bags before leaving with "a large sum of money in her hand," according to the complaint.
Police say Van was also seen leaving the salon with "large plastic garbage bags with items resembling clothing," eventually leading to a traffic stop where officials confirmed the bags contained stolen Lululemon merchandise.
The 28-year-old woman, who has not been charged yet, was arrested in late August following another shoplifting incident at the store. The complaint says she confessed her crimes, telling police she made "at least 100 transactions" with Van, would allegedly contact her "sometimes daily" for stolen clothes and would pay her $400 for salon deliveries. Van would then allegedly remove the security tags before reselling the items.
When police eventually arrested Van, they say officers allegedly "overheard her speaking Vietnamese to someone." Officers staking out her home then observed "two females and a male quickly removing numerous white plastic bags of merchandise from the residence," the complaint states.
Nguyen was also arrested, with the complaint stating law enforcement officials sought to increase her bail amount. Police say the total amount of stolen goods "far exceeds $5,000," according to the complaint.
If convicted, each woman could face up to 15 years in prison.
Update (Dec. 16, 2024) — My Hoang Thi Van pleaded guilty to felony organized retail theft on Monday afternoon. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 31, 2025.