Baltimore, Maryland - Robert Anthony Reed, age 27, and Daniel Filip Mimer, age 27, both of Baltimore, Maryland pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The guilty pleas were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Postal Inspector in Charge Daniel S. Cortez of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III; and Special Agent in Charge C. André Martin of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation.

According to their plea agreements, from 2007 to March 2010 Reed, Mimer and others conspired to conduct monetary transactions involving the sale of mass quantities of stolen over-the-counter medications, health and beauty aid products, gift cards, DVDs, tools and other merchandise. Shoplifters, also known as “boosters,” stole products from Target, Safeway, Wal-Mart, Kohl’s and other retailers in Maryland and other states. Pawn shops bought large amounts of stolen items from the boosters. Mimer and others were responsible for receiving some of the stolen products at We Buy Pawn Shop. Mimer also worked at TS Liquidators, 4126A Menlo Drive, Baltimore, Maryland, where stolen material was taken. Reed and others were responsible for picking up the stolen products from the pawn shops and delivering them to TS Liquidators where Reed and others would remove security labels and retail tags from the stolen products. Reed helped in shipping those products to unsuspecting customers via the U.S. mail.

On March 25, 2010, agents from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Baltimore County Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed search warrants at the liquidation shop and several pawn shops. Agents recovered well over $1 million in stolen merchandise, approximately $1 million in bank accounts and over $140,000 in cash, and 44 firearms. Although the entire conspiracy involved approximately $20 million in stolen merchandise, between $1 million and $2.5 million in stolen items was reasonably foreseeable to both Reed and Mimer.

Both defendants face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. U.S. District Judge Benson E. Legg has scheduled sentencing for Reed on July 1, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. and for Mimer on July 15, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Kwame J. Manley and Richard Kay, who are prosecuting the case.