14 arrested in $10 million Southern California Home Depot theft ring

An organized retail theft ring responsible for over $10 million in stolen merchandise from Southern California Home Depot stores has been busted in what the Ventura County Sheriff's Department is calling the largest retail theft case uncovered in the store's history.

"The crew wasn't just grabbing random items," Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said. "They were highly organized and targeting Home Depot and focusing on expensive electrical components like breakers, dimmers, switches and outlets."

In all, 14 people have been arrested, and so far, nine have been charged by the Ventura County District Attorney's office. Investigators have seized an estimated $3.7 million in Home Depot property.

Prosecutors said 600 thefts occurred over several years at 71 separate Home Depot stores in Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties.

At the top of the theft ring was David Ahl, who owns Arya Wholesale store in Tarzana and would allegedly sell the stolen goods at reduced prices. He faces 48 felony counts, including conspiracy, organized retail theft, grand theft, receiving stolen property, and money laundering, prosecutors said.

Ahl's brother-in-law, Omid Abrishamkar, allegedly helped sell the stolen items online through Amazon and eBay. Prosecutors said he faces 11 felony charges, including conspiracy, receiving stolen property, money laundering and others.

"Both of these men are alleged to have used wholesale and online businesses as fronts to make dirty money look clean," Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said. He said his office has seized over $800,000 of that dirty money.

Meanwhile, Ahl's ex-wife, Lorena Solis, and her boyfriend Enrique Moreno allegedly ran a nearly identical "fencing operation" of their own. Each faces eight counts of conspiracy for their alleged role in reselling stolen merchandise to electrical supply warehouses, prosecutors said.

Ahl's own employees, which police called "booster crews," were also allegedly involved. Three of Ahl's employees made up the core of the booster crew in Ventura County. Prosecutors said each would enter and exit the stores multiple times, with each trip bringing in between $6,000 and $10,000 in stolen merchandise.

Home Depot store surveillance video provided by the task force showed the suspects in the store, grabbing merchandise off shelves and stuffing it inside their jackets. 

Fryhoff said the case is ongoing and more arrests are likely.

The Ventura County Organized Retail Theft Task Force is funded by a state grant and made up of a team of investigators from the Port Hueneme Police Department, the Simi Valley Police Department, the DA's office and the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.