4 arrested in jewelry thefts that "traumatized" Indian, South Asian families in 25 Massachusetts towns

BOSTON - Four Rhode Island men have been arrested in a years-long burglary ring that stole expensive jewelry and other valuables from Indian and South Asian families in Massachusetts, authorities announced Friday. 

Brothers Jovan Lemon and Paul Lemon, their father Paul Miller and Steven Berdugo are accused of organizing 43 burglaries in 25 Massachusetts communities between 2018 and 2024. They stole jewelry and cash that totaled more than $4 million, including diamond pieces that were worth $75,000 each, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said.

Victims told WBZ-TV last summer that jewelry is an important part of their culture - not as possessions, but heirlooms.

"They were truly traumatized and in some cases really robbed of pieces of their heritage by these events," Ryan said. 

"Sophisticated" break-ins

Ryan said the jewelry thieves were "sophisticated individuals" who managed to avoid being detected by surveillance cameras in all but a few instances. The burglaries happened when families were not at home. It's believed the thieves were using Wi-Fi jammers, as neighbors would report suddenly losing internet service at the time of the break-ins. 

They wore gloves and hats and didn't use cell phones during the burglaries to avoid getting caught, Ryan said. Investigators also found GPS trackers, which suggests the thieves may have known when the families left home.

Some of the targeted families kept their valuables in safes weighing as much as 400 pounds. But Ryan says the thieves would use ladders to enter from the second floor and then drop the safes out a window.

"Targeted based on their ethnicity"

The victims were almost uniformly Indian or South Asian. Ryan said the thieves targeted families "based on their ethnicity" because those communities were believed to be more likely to have precious gems and expensive jewelry in their homes. 

"We did find lists of temple memberships, temples in the area and lists of families who belonged to those temples," Ryan said.

The list of communities hit by thefts include Billerica, Boxboro, Carlisle, Easton, Hopkinton, Lincoln, Weston, Sudbury, Andover, Bellingham, Boxford, Franklin, Hudson, Littleton, Medway, Middleton, Millis, North Attleboro, Norwell, Pembroke, Seekonk, Sharon, Southboro, Wenham and Westwood.

The four men, who authorities say are tied to a Providence-based gang, are facing 95 counts each of unarmed burglary and breaking and entering. Ryan said it's too early to determine whether hate crime charges are warranted.

"If we define a hate crime as you do something to someone because of who they are, then that fits that definition," she said. "They looked at individual communities, made determinations about what they thought would be in those houses and then targeted those houses."