OAN Staff Taylor Tinsley
4:42 PM – Friday, July 19, 2024
A suburban California mother is now facing more than five years in prison after police discovered that she was the mastermind behind an organized national crime ring.
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53-year-old Michelle Mack and her husband, Kenneth Mack, were sentenced by a San Diego County judge on Thursday.
The pair were both sentenced to five years and four months behind bars, but as part of a plea deal, Mack’s husband will be released after one year and serve the rest of his sentence on probation through community service.
Mack, on the other hand, was given a delayed sentence, which she’ll serve once her husband is released so that the couple can care for their three children.
After serving a search warrant at the Macks’ 4,5000-square-foot mansion just outside of San Diego, California, investigators discovered more than $350,000 worth of makeup and other products.
Prosecutors say that Mack oversaw about a dozen people working in her operation, dubbed the “California Girls,” which made millions after re-selling the products on Amazon.
Authorities said the theft ring spanned across 21 counties and is estimated to have stolen over $8 million in beauty products.
As part of their sentence, the couple has also been ordered to pay $3 million in restitution to Ulta, a U.S. chain of cosmetic stores, and another $13,000 to Sephora, another popular chain of cosmetic stores in the U.S.
During an interview with CNBC earlier this year, Ulta CEO Dave Kimbell said that e-commerce sites should be more committed to ensuring that nothing they sell is stolen goods.
“There’s so much data, insights, and technology available to dive deep to make sure that we as retailers, as the collective retailer community, aren’t part of the problem,” Kimbell said.
As Mack awaits her husband’s release to serve her sentence, she has been ordered to not leave the state. Additionally, she has been ordered to not go near any Ulta or Sephora store locations.
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