CRIME
Woman Charged With Stealing, Reselling $800,000 In Luxury Clothes From Rental Sites
U.S. Attorney's Office
A Michigan woman has been charged in New York for allegedly stealing more than $800,000 worth of luxury and designer goods from apparel rental sites and reselling them online, authorities said.
Brandalene Horn, 42, is charged with mail fraud, wire fraud, and the interstate transportation of stolen property, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced Wednesday.
According to prosecutors, from at least April 2022 through at least February 2024, Horn created hundreds of accounts with at least three websites that offer luxury clothing and accessory rentals. After receiving rental items, Horn allegedly kept them instead of returning them, then sold them on an e-commerce marketplace, often using the victim companies’ own proprietary photos.
When the companies tried to charge Horn for the items she failed to return, she allegedly avoided the charges by disputing them with her credit union or canceling the credit and debit cards she had provided to the victim companies.
As alleged, Brandalene Horn perpetrated a lucrative scheme in which she defrauded at least three victim companies, stole hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of luxury and designer items, and then sold those stolen items online, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. Thanks to the work of the prosecutors and investigators of my Office, Horn now faces criminal federal charges for her alleged deceptive behavior and fraudulent activity.”
During the period outlined in the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, Horn allegedly stole more than 1,000 items, valued at over $823,000, and sold over $750,000 worth of stolen items.
Horn faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for one count of mail fraud, 20 years in prison for one count of wire fraud, and 10 years in prison for one count of interstate transportation of stolen property.
TMX contributed to this article.
