Robert and Jaclyn Dell used a drug rehabilitation midway home as a guise to maneuver and promote stolen items from Residence Depot within the theft ring.
A St. Petersburg married couple was convicted of working a retail theft scheme that bilked greater than $2 million in unlawful proceeds linked to a counseling heart.
Legal professional Basic James Uthmeier mentioned his Workplace of Statewide Prosecution obtained the responsible verdicts towards Robert and Jaclyn Dell for working a “transformation heart” that promised help for individuals recovering from drug habit. Robert Dell is a former pastor of The Rock Church in St. Petersburg and his spouse helped set up the retail theft ring.
“These fraudsters hid their true motives behind religion and charity to launder proceeds from a large-scale legal enterprise,” Uthmeier mentioned in a information launch.
The case was cracked following a multi-agency investigation together with the Florida Division of Regulation Enforcement (FDLE) and Florida Agricultural Regulation Enforcement. The couple have been initially arrested in August, 2023 following a number of thefts over a number of years from Residence Depot shops.
They stole from the retailer underneath the guise of offering counseling and help for these individuals they claimed to be treating. Investigators discovered the couple used the midway home as a entrance for shifting stolen items from Residence Depot shops and offered the merchandise on-line by ebay. It’s believed the scheme originated as early as 2015.
The Residence Depot places that had gadgets stolen by two different accomplices serving to the Dells have been in Citrus, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, and Sarasota counties
“These two criminals have been defrauding susceptible Floridians whereas pretending to serve our communities,” mentioned FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass. “I applaud our analysts and companions for uncovering the total scope of their exploitation and serving to safe this verdict.”
The couple was discovered responsible of a number of expenses together with dealing in stolen items, cash laundering and racketeering and conspiracy. They’re set for sentencing March 13 in Pinellas County. Robert Dell might be sentenced to a most of 150 years in jail whereas Jaclyn Dell might be sentenced to 30 years.
