By Forum Staff
State Attorney General Tish James on Thursday announced the convictions and sentencings of members of a massive retail theft operation in New York City, including its ringleader, Fresh Meadows resident Roni Rubinov, who stole and resold millions of dollars in goods from 2017 to 2022.
An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force and the City Police Department’s Grand Larceny Division recovered more than $3.8 million in stolen goods from Rubinov, along with more than 550 stolen gift and cash cards and over $300,000 in cash. Rubinov was convicted of enterprise corruption and sentenced to two and a half to seven and a half years in State prison. He forfeited approximately $2.1 million and must pay additional restitution of over $3.1 million. Thirty-six members of the organization have been convicted; four call Queens home.
“This crime ring organized bands of shoplifters to rob stores throughout our city, putting both businesses and everyday New Yorkers in danger,” James said.
A multiyear investigation led by OCTF and NYPD found that Rubinov and his accomplices, Yuriy Khodzhandiyev and Rafik Israilov, directed thieves to steal merchandise and gift cards from Big Apple retailers. The thieves brought the stolen goods to Rubinov’s New Liberty Loans Pawn Shop, located at 67 W 47th St., and to Romanov Gold Buyers, Inc., located at 71 W 47th St. Rubinov’s employees, Akasya Yasaroglu, Lyudmila Yushuvayev, Zamira Shaganova, Erica Zambrano, and Ramdass Ramkissoon, then purchased the stolen goods at steep discounts and resold them for profit on an eBay store called Treasure-Deals-USA.
Once the stolen property was purchased by Rubinov or his employees, it was stored at one of the locations in midtown Manhattan. It was then regularly transported by Fathi Negadi to Rubinov’s residence and Rubinov’s stash house, both located in Fresh Meadows. Other members of the crime ring inventoried and organized the stolen property at the stash locations in Queens and then posted the items for sale on Romanov’s eBay store. Once the posted items were purchased, they were transported back to 71 W 47th St. to be packaged and shipped.
Additionally, OCTF and NYPD uncovered that Rubinov procured NYC Electronic Benefits Transfer cards and benefits from boosters in exchange for cash. Rubinov directed Khodzhandiyev, Yasaroglu, and Shaganova to verify whether the boosters’ personal EBT cards or accounts had active balances and to subsequently purchase the EBT cards from the boosters in exchange for cash. Rubinov then used these EBT cards to purchase groceries for his family.
The investigation also found that Rubinov reinvested almost 60 percent of his eBay gross proceeds into the enterprise. Specifically, Rubinov and his employees reinvested funds for various illicit business expenses, such as cash withdrawals which paid boosters for stolen property, payments made to Rubinov’s employees, and marketing campaigns. These types of payments and expenses were the foundation of Rubinov’s enterprise, which enabled him to continue to purchase and resell stolen property, and which perpetuated the flow of illicit proceeds into Rubinov’s PayPal and bank accounts.
