Federal Indictment Targets $2 Million Nike Cargo Theft Scheme
Quick Summary
- Federal prosecutors indicted 12 people for allegedly diverting $2 million in Nike footwear from the North American Logistics Center between July 2021 and June 2024.
- Warehouse insiders used fake UPS labels to redirect shipments to resale operations in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Wisconsin, moving roughly 3,119 cartons total.
- Defendants face conspiracy charges carrying up to five years in prison; prosecutors seek forfeiture of at least $2 million in stolen product value.
Federal prosecutors in Memphis have indicted 12 people over a multi-year scheme that allegedly diverted at least $2 million worth of Nike footwear out of the brand's North American Logistics Center. According to the indictment, the conspiracy ran from July 2021 through June 2024 and moved product through unauthorized UPS labels, a ring of warehouse insiders, and a set of resale businesses stretching from Los Angeles to Chicago.
How the scheme worked
Prosecutors say insiders at the facility identified specific cartons for diversion, then placed unauthorized UPS labels on them to redirect the shipments to predetermined addresses. Roy Harvey Jr. allegedly created the labels through his company RHJ Global, while Keith Cannon set up an alternate UPS account tied to an operation called Valid Kixx. Michael Perkins, a floor manager at the center, allegedly carried the labels into the warehouse and handed them to at least four employees named in the filing as Julian Baker, Cortez Spencer, Roderico McClellan, and Damon Johnson, who attached them to the selected cartons.
The volume was significant. The indictment claims roughly 3,119 labels were used successfully across the operation: about 149 tied to the Cool Kicks resale store between July 2021 and May 2022, 1,860 routed through RHJ Global from May 2022 to January 2024, and 459 plus a further 800 connected to Cannon across 2023 and into June 2024. The relabeled shipments were sent to addresses in California, Racine, Wisconsin, and Charlestown, Indiana. In one striking detail, prosecutors allege Perkins kept distributing labels through June 2024 even after Nike placed him on administrative leave following an arrest in the case in January 2024.
The resale network
The diverted shoes allegedly flowed into a network of resale operations that the indictment describes in detail. Cadarian Mack is accused of listing product on StockX and GOAT and collecting payments through PayPal. Bereket Abraham allegedly co-owned Cool Kicks in Los Angeles and created a fake invoice to paper over transactions. Joel Deluna is named as the owner of Chicago Emporium in Illinois, Jorge Cuellar as the operator of Horhead Investments, and Marquesio Robinson, who had previously worked at a Nike Employee Store, as the person who registered a company called Timetrav3lers LLC.
The money flows named in the filing run into the hundreds of thousands. Chicago Emporium allegedly paid Cannon around $492,000 between April and June 2024, Cool Kicks paid Harvey and Cannon a combined $215,275 between April and November 2023, and Horhead Investments allegedly sent $696,700 to a food truck operation called R&Beef Dawgz between April 2023 and January 2024.
The charges
All 12 defendants face a single federal conspiracy count that carries up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Harvey faces an additional count of interstate transportation of stolen property and aiding and abetting, tied to a January shipment valued above $5,000, which carries a maximum of 10 years. He was arrested in Los Angeles in January 2024 while collecting cartons, with the filing referencing 27 in one section and 28 in another. Prosecutors are seeking a forfeiture judgment of at least $2 million, and U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Parker is overseeing the case. No court filing alleges that UPS knowingly took part in the scheme; the indictment casts the carrier as the network the relabeled cartons simply moved through.
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Quick Summary
- Federal prosecutors indicted 12 people for allegedly diverting $2 million in Nike footwear from the North American Logistics Center between July 2021 and June 2024.
- Warehouse insiders used fake UPS labels to redirect shipments to resale operations in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Wisconsin, moving roughly 3,119 cartons total.
- Defendants face conspiracy charges carrying up to five years in prison; prosecutors seek forfeiture of at least $2 million in stolen product value.
Federal prosecutors in Memphis have indicted 12 people over a multi-year scheme that allegedly diverted at least $2 million worth of Nike footwear out of the brand's North American Logistics Center. According to the indictment, the conspiracy ran from July 2021 through June 2024 and moved product through unauthorized UPS labels, a ring of warehouse insiders, and a set of resale businesses stretching from Los Angeles to Chicago.
How the scheme worked
Prosecutors say insiders at the facility identified specific cartons for diversion, then placed unauthorized UPS labels on them to redirect the shipments to predetermined addresses. Roy Harvey Jr. allegedly created the labels through his company RHJ Global, while Keith Cannon set up an alternate UPS account tied to an operation called Valid Kixx. Michael Perkins, a floor manager at the center, allegedly carried the labels into the warehouse and handed them to at least four employees named in the filing as Julian Baker, Cortez Spencer, Roderico McClellan, and Damon Johnson, who attached them to the selected cartons.
The volume was significant. The indictment claims roughly 3,119 labels were used successfully across the operation: about 149 tied to the Cool Kicks resale store between July 2021 and May 2022, 1,860 routed through RHJ Global from May 2022 to January 2024, and 459 plus a further 800 connected to Cannon across 2023 and into June 2024. The relabeled shipments were sent to addresses in California, Racine, Wisconsin, and Charlestown, Indiana. In one striking detail, prosecutors allege Perkins kept distributing labels through June 2024 even after Nike placed him on administrative leave following an arrest in the case in January 2024.
The resale network
The diverted shoes allegedly flowed into a network of resale operations that the indictment describes in detail. Cadarian Mack is accused of listing product on StockX and GOAT and collecting payments through PayPal. Bereket Abraham allegedly co-owned Cool Kicks in Los Angeles and created a fake invoice to paper over transactions. Joel Deluna is named as the owner of Chicago Emporium in Illinois, Jorge Cuellar as the operator of Horhead Investments, and Marquesio Robinson, who had previously worked at a Nike Employee Store, as the person who registered a company called Timetrav3lers LLC.
The money flows named in the filing run into the hundreds of thousands. Chicago Emporium allegedly paid Cannon around $492,000 between April and June 2024, Cool Kicks paid Harvey and Cannon a combined $215,275 between April and November 2023, and Horhead Investments allegedly sent $696,700 to a food truck operation called R&Beef Dawgz between April 2023 and January 2024.
The charges
All 12 defendants face a single federal conspiracy count that carries up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Harvey faces an additional count of interstate transportation of stolen property and aiding and abetting, tied to a January shipment valued above $5,000, which carries a maximum of 10 years. He was arrested in Los Angeles in January 2024 while collecting cartons, with the filing referencing 27 in one section and 28 in another. Prosecutors are seeking a forfeiture judgment of at least $2 million, and U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Parker is overseeing the case. No court filing alleges that UPS knowingly took part in the scheme; the indictment casts the carrier as the network the relabeled cartons simply moved through.