Sheriff: Suspects Stole $10 Million From confederate California Home Depot Stores

Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times,

Authorities arrested 14 suspects they say stole $10 million in electrical equipment over several years in near-daily trips to Home Depot locations throughout Southern California, Ventura County officials announced on Aug. 26.

The theft ring is the largest organized retail theft case in Home Depot history, Sheriff Jim Fryhoff told reporters.

“The crew wasn’t just grabbing random items,” Fryhoff said.

The alleged thieves were highly organized and targeted Home Depot centers in Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties.

In all, 71 Home Depot stores were hit an estimated 600 times by the organized crime crew during their multi-year operation, according to authorities.

“They basically had been able to pull off over 600 different thefts from Home Depots in the surrounding counties,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.

“They must have thought life was grand. They’ve been making millions of dollars; didn’t look like anyone was going to stop them.”

Law enforcement arrested 14 suspects on Aug. 14 and nine have been charged with multiple felonies, including organized retail theft, conspiracy, grand theft, money laundering, and receiving stolen property.

Those charged so far face sentences ranging from four to 32 years in state prison.

In February, Home Depot alerted Ventura County’s organized retail theft team about a rash of shoplifting offenses at their stores. The complex investigation led to more than 50 search warrants and an extensive surveillance operation.

The investigation led law enforcement to arrest 14 people allegedly connected to a sophisticated theft ring that was responsible for entering Home Depot stores, sometimes several times a day, and stealing expensive electrical equipment—including breakers, dimmers, switches, and outlets.

The shoplifters would start early in the morning, stuffing items in their clothing and reaching behind locked aisles, according to one video shown Aug. 26.

The alleged ringleader—David Ahl, 59—ran a storefront called ARIA Wholesale in Tarzana, according to Fryhoff.

14 suspects were arrested August 2025 in an organized retail crime bust in Ventura County, Calif. Ventura County Sheriff’s Department

Authorities say Ahl’s crew of thieves, known as boosters, would steal the merchandise and deliver it in trash bags or boxes to Ahl’s business or to his home, where he would allegedly pay them in cash.

Ahl would then allegedly sell the items at a reduced price to electrical contractors or other electrical businesses.

His brother-in-law, Omid Abrishamkar, 35, is accused of helping Ahl sell the stolen merchandise online on eBay or Amazon, according to Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko.

Ahl’s ex-wife, Lorena Solis, 54, and her boyfriend Enrique Felix Neira Moreno, 59, were also arrested on suspicion of running a nearly identical fencing operation of their own.

Teams of boosters, or thieves, were entering Home Depot stores and stealing between $6,000 and $10,000 each time, the sheriff reported.

These items were seized during the investigation into an organized crime ring that targeted Southern California Home Depot stores. Ventura County Sheriff’s Department

Investigators seized an estimated $3.7 million in Home Depot property during several searches, according to the sheriff.

“As the investigation continues, we expect that dollar amount will rise,” Fryoff said. “This case is ongoing and more arrests are likely.”

The suspects charged are Ahl, Erlin Anain Hernandez Lopez, 28, Denny Jose Hernandez Gomez, 43, Jose Benuelos Guerrero, 60, Eber Bonilla Lopez, 39, Abrishamkar, Edwin Villalvir Rivera, 32, Solis and Moreno.

Darlene Hermosillo, the asset protection manager for Home Depot, was thankful for the arrests.

“This theft was motivated by greed, not necessity, and was funding broader criminal activity,” Hermosillo said Aug. 26.

Retailers across the country are faced with retail organized crime that continues to grow, she added.

New Law on Thefts

Changes in California law within the past year allowed county district attorneys to coordinate and combine the thefts into one prosecution in Ventura County. Assembly Bill 1779, authored by Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin, a Democrat from Thousand Oaks, took effect on Jan. 1. The new law allows crimes that occur across multiple counties to be consolidated into a single filing.

Irwin joined authorities in the Aug. 26 press conference.

“The announcement of these charges here today should be a clear signal to organized thieves that the days of being able to steal and terrorize the residents of both Ventura and LA counties are over,” Irwin said.

The voter-approved Prop. 36, which took effect Dec. 18, also allowed prosecutors to consolidate the value of multiple thefts into one charge, allowing authorities to charge defendants with felonies and not misdemeanors, even if individual thefts fall below the felony threshold of $950.