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  Fences Indicted in Multi-Million Dollar, Multi-State Criminal Theft Operations
  

  Fences Indicted in Multi-Million Dollar, Multi-State Criminal Theft Operations

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  HOUSTON
  – Two brothers are set to appear in court following the return of two
  indictments for their separate operations involving the possession and
  interstate transportation of stolen property, announced U.S. Attorney
  Ryan K. Patrick.

  
  

  A federal grand jury returned the indictments March 28, 2018, against
  Yasser Saleh Ouwad, 47, of and Bilal Saleh Awad, 45, both of Houston.
  Luis Garcia-Oyuela, 33, a Honduran national who illegally resided in
  Houston is also charged for his role in Ouwad’s organization. Ouwad and
  Garcia-Oyuela are set for their arraignment today before U.S. Magistrate
  Judge Frances Stacy at 10:00 a.m. Awad is scheduled for a detention
  hearing at 2:00 p.m. today before Judge Stacy. The indictment remains
  sealed as to others charged but not as yet in custody for their roles in
  the organizations.

  
  

  Ouwad and Awad are alleged to have acted as high-level “fences” in
  multi-million dollar, multi-state criminal enterprises involving stolen
  over-the-counter (OTC) medicine, diabetic test strips and health and
  beauty supplies. The enterprises allegedly used “boosters” to steal OTC
  medication from large retailers.

  
  

  A “booster” allegedly steals goods and merchandise not for personal
  use but for re-sale to a “fence” for a fraction of its retail value. A
  “fence” is a person who receives stolen goods and merchandise from
  “boosters” and others. The “fence” then re-sells the stolen goods and
  merchandise to third parties for a profit.

  
  

  The scope of these criminal enterprises ranged from June 2015 to March 2018, according to the charges. 

  
  

  The indictment alleges Ouwad owned and operated Houston-based GPS
  Wholesale Inc. which he ran from his warehouse at 12440 Oxford Park, in
  Houston. At his warehouse, he and Garcia-Oyuela would receive stolen
  OTC, clean the products of anti-theft stickers and security labels,
  re-package the products into pallets and ship the merchandise to
  wholesale companies in the New Jersey, according to the charges. The
  indictment further alleges he hired undocumented aliens from Central
  America to travel throughout the United States to steal the OTC, beauty
  products and diabetic test strips from major retail chain stores such as
  Wal-Mart, CVS and Walgreens. He allegedly facilitated this interstate
  travel by fronting the boosters with travel money, wiring them money
  during their travels and paying the boosters for the stolen merchandise.

  
  

  Awad allegedly ran a similar operation, but received his stolen
  merchandise at Cube Smart at 7001 Synott Road in Houston. The indictment
  alleges he cleaned and re-packaged the stolen OTC merchandise at his
  residence in Houston before shipping the product to a wholesale company
  in Oceanside, New York.

  
  

  To avoid detection by law enforcement, the undocumented aliens would
  ship the stolen merchandise to Ouwad and Awad using fictitious names and
  company names, according to the charges. Once the stolen merchandise
  arrived in Houston, Awad and Ouwad or their associates would allegedly
  remove any retail store identifying labels and security features. The
  indictment alleges the fences would then have the stolen products
  repackaged and shipped to wholesalers in the Northeast for profit.

  
  

  Authorities conducted a search of Ouwad’s warehouse on Feb. 27, 2018,
  at which time they seized almost $600,000 in stolen OTC as well as
  inventory lists and numerous items related to his alleged criminal
  activity. The following day, Awad was found with similar items related
  to his operation at his residence.  

  
  

  Ouwad, Awad and Garcia-Oyuela each face up to five years for
  conspiracy to transport stolen merchandise in interstate commerce as
  well as up to 10 years for each count of possessing and transporting
  interstate stolen merchandise. All charges also include a possible
  $250,000 maximum fine.

  
  

  Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security
  Investigations and the Food and Drug Administration conducted the
  investigation with the cooperation of CVS, Walgreens, Proctor &
  Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Roche, Abbott and Kroger. Assistant U.S.
  Attorneys Heather Winter and Richard Hanes are prosecuting the case.

  
  

  An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
  
  A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

  
  

  
  

  
  

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