‘$4.3M in goods stolen’ Pittsburgh man found guilty of money laundering

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WTAJ) — A federal jury found a Pittsburgh resident guilty on five counts of money laundering and conspiracy in connection with the sale and interstate transportation of stolen goods.

Durrell Waters, 41, was one of the primary owners of a series of second-hand or resale businesses called “Trader Electronics,” “Last Call Entertainment” and “The Outlet,” according to evidence presented in trial. Waters Conspired with others to use these businesses as a front for a “criminal fencing operation” that sold a wide variety of health and beauty aids as well as over the over-the-counter medications online.

From 2013 through 2016, retailers in the greater Pittsburgh area experienced a drastic uptick
in the volume of thefts occurring at their stores. The investigation into those thefts led to the
discovery that Waters’ stores and similar stores in the area engaged in high-volume purchases of brand-new retail health and beauty aids and other products, such as new-release DVDs, from walk in sellers who had shoplifted the items.

During this time, Waters knew that the vast majority of the products they were buying were stolen, according to court documents. The health and beauty aids included items like teeth whiteners, vitamins, hair and skin care products as well as makeup.

Store records reflected that Waters and his businesses purchased hundreds of thousands of brand-new items from a group of repeat shoplifters. Waters and his businesses then resold that stolen property online via several Amazon and eBay storefronts, with the proceeds from the store’s main Amazon account totaling over $4.3 million during the conspiracy.

“To pull off their scheme, they relied on desperate people deep in the throes of addiction to maintain the flow of stolen goods, using them to steal from and ultimately undercut legitimate retailers. The ‘boosters’ in this case were reportedly lined up down the street outside Waters’ stores in the morning—waiting to get their first cash of the day so they could pay their dealers,” U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan said. “This successful prosecution is the result of a regional effort involving the cooperation of many local law enforcement agencies, as well as the IRS, FBI, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. We are committed to holding accountable those who would exploit the opioid epidemic as a way to line their pockets.”

Waters is the eighth and final resale store owner to be found guilty of similar schemes that
occurred during the same time and were part of the same investigation. Thach Duc Le, Milton Barr, Shane McFall, Michael McDavid, Qamar Zaman, and Aliya Zaman all pleaded guilty to similar charges related to stores affiliated either with Waters and Costanzo or another entity known as Ninja Entertainment.

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