Grand jury indicts 4 Ecuadorian nationals with running national theft ring

DAYTON, Ohio -- A federal grand jury has indicted four Ecuadorian nationals with crimes related to stealing jewelry and Apple products at retail centers in multiple states to then resell the items on the black market.

Those charged include Alexander Wilson Diaz-Remache, 39; Jonathan Eduardo Remache-Diaz, 33; Alvaro Oswaldo Loaiza-Alvarez, 27; and Gustavo Daniel Vinueaza-Bueno, 36. The defendants are scheduled to appear in federal court today.

“This office will seek to hold accountable anyone stealing from and endangering the hard-working men and women who deliver our goods and mail. Whether it be UPS, FedEx, the U.S. Postal Service, or any other deliverer, we will not tolerate attacks against individuals simply doing their jobs,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker.

According to the indictment, between January and September 2023, the defendants conspired to steal interstate shipments and transported stolen goods in interstate commerce.

It is alleged three of the defendants entered the United States on travel visas and established California as a base of their illegal activities with Diaz-Remache. From their California base, the coconspirators would allegedly travel by plane and car to other states, including Ohio, Virginia and Maryland, in search of malls and retail centers housing Apple stores, jewelry stores and other businesses.

The defendants would allegedly establish surveillance at these retail centers and track deliveries from UPS, FedEx and other common carriers to learn their delivery patterns. The men then allegedly stole the goods on the delivery vehicles, repackaged them, and mailed them back to California to eventually resell them on the international black market. After saturating an area with thefts of interstate shipments, the coconspirators relocated their efforts, often moving from state to state.

In the Southern District of Ohio, the men allegedly performed surveillance of a FedEx delivery truck at the Greene Town Center in Beavercreek on Sept. 19. One defendant allegedly attempted to distract the delivery driver in a hallway while the other three forced entry into the delivery truck, stealing 300 Apple watches.

A few days later, on Sept. 22, the four defendants allegedly began surveillance of a UPS truck at the Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek with the intent to steal the interstate shipment within it.

Other thefts alleged in the indictment include approximately $300,000 in diamonds and other jewelry from a UPS truck in Rockville, Maryland, and thousands of dollars in jewelry from a UPS truck in Fairfax, Virginia.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Beavercreek Police Chief Jeff Fiorita. Deputy Criminal Chief Brent G. Tabacchi is representing the United States in this case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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