Felon Sentenced To Over Six Years For Multi-State Retail Theft Schemes

MOBILE, AL - A New York man was sentenced to 81 total months in federal prison for his role in two separate retail theft schemes that affected over 75 retail store locations in at least nine states causing a collective loss of over $250,000.

According to court documents, 33-year-old Christopher Greene-Jackson and 48-year-old codefendant Jason Thomas Macaulay were involved in conspiracy to fraudulently obtain gift cards from retail stores, in seven states including retail stores in Mobile and Bay Minette, Alabama.

From February 2021 through April 2021, Greene-Jackson and Macaulay fraudulently obtained personal operator identification numbers and passwords belonging to retail store employees. Greene-Jackson and Macaulay collected blank gift cards from the store racks. Using the stolen credentials, Greene-Jackson and Macaulay conducted purported gift card transactions at unoccupied point-of-sale terminals. While logged into the terminals using stolen credentials belonging to real employees, Greene-Jackson and Macaulay activated the blank gift cards they had taken from the store racks and loaded funds onto the gift cards. Greene-Jackson and Macaulay stole cash from the point-of-sale terminal drawer and left the stores with fraudulently loaded gift cards and stolen cash. These gift card and cash thefts occurred at over 60 retail locations, resulting in a loss of approximately $59,000.

In September 2024, Greene-Jackson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence of imprisonment. Codefendant Macaulay previously pleaded guilty in April 2024 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering for his role in the scheme and was sentenced to 69 total months in federal prison. Greene-Jackson and Macaulay were both ordered to pay approximately $59,000 in restitution to the victim retailer, representing the total amount of fraudulently loaded gift cards and stolen cash.

During the investigation and prosecution of the gift card scheme, federal law enforcement identified Greene-Jackson conducting a separate, retail scheme as part of an organized theft group affecting sporting goods retail stores. According to court documents, between July 2023 and March 2024, Greene-Jackson conspired with others to steal golf clubs and golf bags from multiple sporting goods stores in at least five states. The thefts were primarily carried out by conspirators who entered the stores during normal operating hours, grabbed golf clubs and bags, and ran out of the retail stores with thousands of dollars' worth of golf equipment. Greene-Jackson retrieved the stolen golf equipment from the thieves. Greene-Jackson shipped the stolen golf equipment to an innocent third-party online retailer in the business of buying and selling used golf equipment. The online retailer purchased the equipment from Greene-Jackson until the online retailer realized that the merchandise had been stolen. The total value of golf equipment stolen during the conspiracy was nearly $200,000 affecting at least ten sporting goods stores in multiple states.

In August 2024, Greene-Jackson was charged in the Northern District of Georgia for conspiracy to transport stolen property in interstate commerce. The case was transferred to the Southern District of Alabama where Greene-Jackson was facing charges for the separate gift card scheme. Greene-Jackson pleaded guilty to the golf merchandise conspiracy charge at the same time he pleaded guilty to charges in the gift card scheme.

On December 20, 2024, Greene-Jackson was sentenced in both cases in the Southern District of Alabama. Greene-Jackson, who had been previously convicted of multiple felony offenses involving fraud, forgery, and theft was sentenced to a total of 81 months in federal prison and ordered to pay over $250,000 in restitution to victims for his roles in both cases.

The gift card theft scheme was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of Walmart Global Investigations and local law enforcement partners. The golf merchandise theft scheme was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations based in Atlanta, Georgia with the assistance of the affected retailers and local law enforcement partners.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin D. Kopf of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Alabama and Kelly K. Connors of the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted the cases on behalf of the United States.