Houston Man Sentenced in Stolen Goods Ring

Houston man Wassim Hassan Elsaleh, 37, a legal permanent resident from Lebanon, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for masterminding a large-scale interstate operation to traffic stolen over-the-counter medication and infant formula. Elsaleh, who also went by Sam Saleh, pleaded guilty on Feb. 11, 2016, to conspiracy to traffic in the interstate transportation of stolen goods, a scheme that spanned from April 10, 2012, to May 31, 2014.

U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison handed down the sentence today, ordering Elsaleh to serve two years behind bars and pay a $10,000 fine. He operated as a fence in the Houston area, receiving stolen merchandise from ‘boosters’—criminals who systematically stole retail goods for resale. These boosters targeted major chains including Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, HEB, and Kroger, focusing on high-demand, easily resalable items like Prilosec, Zantac, Claritin, Mucinex, and infant formula.

Elsaleh owned and operated Payless Wholesale, Discount Wholesale LLC, and Titanium Trading LLC, using warehouse locations at 3612 Mangum #106 and 2121 Brittmoore Road #1800 in Houston to store, repackage, and ship stolen goods. Employees were directed to strip security labels and stickers from infant formula containers to conceal their origins and boost resale profits. The goods were then funneled to out-of-state wholesalers via wire transfer, laundering the illicit proceeds through business accounts.

The boosters who supplied Elsaleh were often undocumented aliens from Mexico, Central and South America, paid in cash to hide the criminal trail. Elsaleh adapted quickly when under pressure—after shutting down Payless Wholesale on Feb. 14, 2013, he reopened operations under the name Titanium Trading in December 2013, moving the operation to evade detection.

Multiple co-defendants have already pleaded guilty and been sentenced in connection with the conspiracy. The FBI, Houston Police Department’s Major Offenders Division, and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation, working closely with corporate partners including CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Kroger, Mead Johnson, and Abbott Nutrition to trace the flow of stolen products.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Suzanne Elmilady and Joe Magliolo prosecuted the case, underscoring federal efforts to dismantle organized retail crime networks that exploit vulnerabilities in supply chains. Elsaleh’s conviction marks a significant blow to a sophisticated, long-running black-market distribution ring operating under the guise of legitimate wholesale business.

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