A Canadian man has been charged for allegedly using sleight-of-hand to steal $64,012 from Walmarts in 14 different states. He allegedly executed the scheme at Walmarts in Arnold and Eureka, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported.
Mohsen Akbari, 37, of Canada pleaded not guilty on Monday, Sept. 11, to charges of wire fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. He was indicted on Aug. 16 and arrested by Homeland Security on Sept. 5, court records show.
The wire fraud charge carries a potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a possible fine of up to $250,000. The interstate transportation of stolen property charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a possible fine of up to $250,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Akbari, who is a Canadian citizen, entered the U.S. on March 1, arriving in Dallas from South Korea on a visitors visa. He then began traveling on a weekly basis to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Illinois, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania and targeted retail stores, including Walmart, to steal money, according to the indictment.
He would rent vehicles in each state from either Enterprise or Turo, a peer-to-peer car-sharing company, to travel in each state, the report said.
Akbari would make small purchases at stores, and then he would tell the cashier that his family collects U.S. currency, typically $100 bills. He would then ask the cashier if he could examine the bills in the cash register to examine the serial numbers on the bills, according to the report.
Akbari would slip some of the bills given to him into his sleeve or pocket. He would then return some of the bills he claimed to be examining, the report said.
Between March 23 to June 8, Akbari allegedly executed the scheme at 30 Walmart locations in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. He stole about $33,700 from those stores, the indictment said.
Between June 13 and June 17, he rented a Kia Sorento from a third party in Creve Coeur through Turo. He then went to seven Walmart locations throughout the St. Louis area and allegedly stole about $16,320 from the stores, the report said.
On June 15, he allegedly stole $5,100 from the Arnold Walmart and $580 from the Eureka Walmart. Before that, he allegedly stole $520 and $1,900 on June 12 from two Walmart locations in St. Peters, $6,900 on June 13 from a Walmart in Granite City, Ill., and on June 14, he allegedly stole $420 from a Walmart in O’Fallon and $900 from a Walmart in Warrenton, the indictment said.
According to the report, between June 20 and July 18, Akbari allegedly used his sleight-of-hand scheme to steal $13,992 from seven Walmarts located in Illinois, Indiana, Virginia and Maryland.
He allegedly would periodically deposit the stolen money into a U.S. bank account and transfer the money to bank accounts in Canada. On June 20, he allegedly made six different deposits using ATM machines in Gary, Ind., for a total of $29,800, the report said.
Homeland Security, Eureka Police and Arnold Police investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman is prosecuting the case.