Man arrested in Sacramento-area Sam’s Club fraud. Over $25K in items found
Detectives arrested a man after they found more than $25,000 worth of merchandise bought at a Sam’s Club store in Sacramento County in an alleged fraud scheme using stolen “rewards” credit from other customers, sheriff’s officials said.
The 38-year-old man was booked Wednesday afternoon at the Sacramento County Main Jail. He faces felony charges of grand theft, organized retail theft, buying or receiving stolen property, identity theft and attempted grand theft, jail records show. He was ineligible for bail and was scheduled to appear for his arraignment hearing Friday afternoon in Sacramento Superior Court.
The investigation that led to his arrest earlier this week began in February at the Sam’s Club store. The suspect tried to walk out of the store without paying for more than $1,000 worth of merchandise mixed in with store items he paid for, according to a news release from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
A store employee who reviewed the suspect’s receipt discovered the attempted theft, sheriff’s officials said, but store employees allowed the suspect to pay for unpurchased items.
Store employees then reviewed other purchases the suspect has made at the Sam’s Club and learned he was using other customers’ personal account information to make purchases using those customers’ earned “rewards” credits, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Detectives from the sheriff’s Property Crimes Bureau and Organized Retail Crime Unit discovered that after the suspect fraudulently purchased merchandise from the store using those stolen “rewards” credits, he began selling that merchandise online.
On Wednesday, the detectives served a search warrant at the suspect’s home where they found in his garage hundreds of items valued at more than $25,000 that was all fraudulently purchased from Sam’s Club, sheriff’s officials said.
The store merchandise found in the garage included snack food, over-the-counter medication, nutritional supplements, hygiene products, pet food and electronics. Sheriff’s officials said the suspect also had a computer, label printer and packaging materials to ship the items he sold.
Sheriff’s detectives believe the suspect likely fraudulently purchased merchandise from other stores that may not have yet been reported.
Investigators asked any businesses that suspect this man committed similar fraud or theft at their store to call the sheriff’s Property Crimes Bureau at 916-875-5388.
This story was originally published May 16, 2025 at 3:41 PM.
