NJ Prosecutors Break Up Alleged Shoplifting Ring Targeting Two Chains Stores

By David Madden

TRENTON, N.J., (CBS) -- Thirteen people are charged in a criminal indictment stemming from an alleged South Jersey shoplifting ring that netted tens of thousands of dollars in clothing.

The New Jersey Attorney General's office probed the thefts that targeted Marshalls and TJ Maxx stores throughout South Jersey over the last several months.

Officials take exception to the suggestion this is just a petty crime.

"This group was way beyond that," Elie Honig with the Division of Criminal Justice told KYW Newsradio. "This group stole over 100 thousand dollars worth of merchandise. That's a serious crime and we will prosecute it as such."

It's alleged that 29-year-old Robert Campbell of Galloway Township would drive his 27-year-old live in girlfriend, Alicia Blackburne, to a store. She'd go in, take high end items into a bathroom, remove security tags and leave. Then an accomplice would return the items for a gift card refund. Those cards would be sold to pawn shops for about half their value.

Where did the accomplices come from? Honig said, "It's just a chain of people who know each other, who may be related to each other, who may have relationships with each other. But really what unifies this group is they saw it as easy money."

All but one defendant is under the age of 30 and they all reside in Atlantic and Cape May Counties.