12 Charged in $2 Million Nike Shoe Theft Conspiracy from Memphis Logistics Center

Federal prosecutors in the United States have charged 12 people in an alleged cargo theft conspiracy that diverted at least $2 million worth of Nike shoes from the company's logistics centre in Memphis, Tennessee. According to a report by Freight Waves, the indictment said the alleged operation ran from July 2021 to June 2024 when Nike employees placed unauthorised UPS shipping labels on selected cartons, allowing the products to be sent to addresses across the country instead of their intended destinations. Nike's North American Logistics Center in Memphis receives imported products before distributing them to retailers. Prosecutors said people involved in the scheme first identified the shoes they wanted to resell. Nike employees then located those cartons inside the warehouse and attached unauthorised UPS labels that redirected the shipments to different addresses. Court records say a person named Roy Harvey Jr allegedly created UPS labels for selected destinations and sent them to Nike employees, who then placed them on the cartons. It further claims, Harvey kept some of the shoes and resold the rest. Harvey operated a business called RHJ Global using his parents' address in Memphis. The indictment says Harvey received 149 UPS labels from shoe reseller Cool Kicks between July 2021 and May 2022. After that, he allegedly created more shipping labels through his RHJ Global account. 1,860 labels were successfully used between May 2022 and January 2024. Another accused, Keith Cannon, allegedly created a separate UPS account using information linked to Valid Kixx. According to prosecutors, 459 labels were used between April 2023 and January 2024 and Cannon produced around 800 more labels between April and June 2024. The report says that about 3,119 UPS labels were successfully used during the alleged operation. The destinations included California, Wisconsin and Indiana. The court documents, however, do not accuse UPS of knowingly taking part in the alleged conspiracy and describes it only as the carrier that transported the labelled cartons. The indictment also claims Harvey asked for false paperwork after UPS requested supporting documents. Bereket Abraham allegedly created a fake shoe invoice for him in September 2022.

Nike employees helped

According to the indictment, Michael Perkins who worked as a floor manager at Nike's Memphis logistics centre, brought unauthorised shipping labels into the warehouse and gave them to Julian Baker, Cortez Spencer, Roderico McClellan and Damon Johnson. Those employees allegedly attached the labels to selected cartons before they left the facility. Nike interviewed Perkins after Harvey was arrested in January 2024 and later placed him on administrative leave. Perkins later left the company but continued providing labels to four employees until June 2024. Records also allege Harvey regularly communicated with Perkins between July 2021 and January 2024, identifying which cartons should be redirected and supplying the required shipping labels.

Resellers bought stolen shoes

The indictment also names three defendants who owned shoe resale businesses. Joel Deluna owned Chicago Emporium in Illinois, Bereket Abraham co-owned Cool Kicks in the Los Angeles area, while Jorge Cuellar operated Horhead Investments near Los Angeles. According to prosecutors, Deluna first supplied shipping labels to Harvey and later bought large quantities of shoes from Harvey and Cannon. Chicago Emporium paid Cannon about $492,000 between April and June 2024. Cool Kicks paid Harvey and Cannon $215,275 between April and November 2023 after buying large quantities of Nike shoes. Horhead Investments transferred $696,700 to Cannon's Memphis food truck business, R&Beef Dawgz, between April 2023 and January 2024. Cadarian Mack sold shoes through StockX and GOAT Sneaker Marketplace and received customer payments through PayPal, the prosecutors alleged.

1 arrested, 12 face trial

According to prosecutors, Harvey was arrested in Los Angeles on January 27, 2024, after receiving a shipment of Nike products. One part of the indictment says the shipment contained 27 cartons, while another says it contained 28 cartons. Harvey faces a charge of interstate transportation of stolen property and aiding and abetting. The shipment was worth more than $5,000. If convicted, the charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release. All 12 defendants have also been charged with conspiracy under federal law. That charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release. Prosecutors are also seeking a forfeiture judgment of at least $2 million.