A Queens couple ran a massive mafia-style theft ring that targeted major chains like Macy’s and Sephora and robbed luxury brands to rake in millions of dollars, officials said Tuesday.
Sticky-fingered husband and wife Cristopher Guzman, 35, and Yvelisse Guzman Batista, 29, earned themselves the dubious distinction of being the first criminals charged under a new state law aimed at cracking down on such widespread online fraud. help disable it, authorities said.
“Listen, this is going to be very simple,” Governor Kathy Hochul said at a news conference the new law – which criminalizes ‘encouraging the sale of stolen goods’, especially through the use of the internet and intermediaries.
“We are fed up with criminals attacking our citizens,” Hochul said. “We are tired of our citizens feeling vulnerable to – whether it’s random crimes on the streets or these sophisticated organized crime gangs. And we’re coming after you.”
Guzman and Batista were allegedly atop what Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz called a “massive shoplifting and fencing operation” built on a guild of thieves that delivered them high-end makeup, perfume, beauty products, designer clothing and accessories stolen from above. and along the east coast.
The Guzmans allegedly directed crew members to steal certain items from stores and then sold the goods from their home in Kew Gardens or a storefront in the Dominican Republic under the name Yvelissa Fashion, LLC, Katz said in a statement.
Other times the couple paid truck drivers a la the crowd to bring them loads of products directly from manufacturers’ warehouses instead of to retailers like Sephora and Ulta Beauty, where they were supposed to go, Katz said.
“The defendants conducted a widespread fencing operation in which stolen goods were offered for sale at well below retail price,” Katz said, adding that the Guzmans made more than $2 million from their illegal activities.
“These arrests prove once again that consumers should be extremely cautious when purchasing items on social media or from unknown sellers,” she said.
“As we approach the holidays, make sure you know the origins of the products you purchase.”
Guzman and Batista – along with Batista’s mother, Rosa Rodriguez Santana, 59; and Johanny Almonte Reyes, 33, of Fresh Meadow, Queens – were hit with a litany of charges, including criminal possession of stolen property, conspiracy, attempted criminal possession of stolen property and promoting the sale of stolen property.
Another alleged accomplice, 29-year-old Tiffany Leon Fuentes of Ozone Park, Queens, faced similar charges.
At the height of the ring’s activities, the defendants were taking in $50,000 in stolen goods every week, Katz said.
The crooks reportedly shared their profits with the street crew, handing them about 10% to 15% of the retail value of each robbery.
The illegal goods were sold through online advertisements or from a physical boutique in Santiago, Dominican Republic.
Authorities busted the ring after New York State Police infiltrated it and then took the case to the Queens district attorney’s office, a law enforcement source told The Post.
State and federal investigators slowly closed in, surveilling the Guzmans’ home in Kew Gardens and an apartment in Fresh Meadows, Katz said.
Undercovers sold three different loads of allegedly stolen goods to the couple, including beauty products and perfume worth about $23,000, authorities said.
In return, the suspects gave them about 15% of the retail value, or nearly $3,800, officials said.
The Guzmans then allegedly asked the agents to steal certain high-demand brands so they could sell them.
Another undercover officer bought an expensive perfume from the Guzmans’ product-laden basement, which was completely stocked with shelves of merchandise, the prosecutor said.
Fuentes, one of the alleged accomplices, was caught on video stealing makeup and cosmetics from Ulta stores in Chester, N.J., and Towson, Md., and bringing them to the Guzmans’ screen spot, officials said.
Earlier this year, shipments of Sol de Janeiro products worth nearly $800,000 miraculously disappeared — and investigators say the Guzmans paid to have drivers bring them directly to them.
Bank records show that between January 2022 and September 2024, the Guzmans made hundreds of payments to dozens of “vendedoras” — the Spanish word for “vendors” — worth about $230,000, Katz said.
The couple allegedly shipped stolen goods to the Dominican Republic in large, blue, plastic barrels – some of which were seized by Homeland Security agents earlier this month.
When authorities raided the Guzmans’ home, the Fresh Meadows apartment and another spot in Briarwood, Queens, on Friday, they found an abundance of contraband — including 50,000 retail products worth more than $1 million from companies like Maybelline, Fenty, Dior and Yve Saint. Laurent, Versace, Valentino, Prada, Zara, Anthropologie and Victoria’s Secret.
They also seized a money counter, a label maker, ship barrels, ledgers and two polymer ghost gun kits containing parts from an unfinished firearm.
The district attorney’s office said the defendants are scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 15 — and could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
-Additional reporting by Vaughn Golden
