HOUSTON, Texas – Sameh Khaled Danhach, also known by many other aliases, has been ordered to prison for nearly 13 years following his conviction on six counts related to the interstate transportation of stolen goods and obstruction of justice, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
A federal jury sitting in Houston convicted Danhach March 4, 2013, after just an hour of deliberation following a five-day trial. Today, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake, who presided over the trial, handed Danhach a total sentence of 151 months in federal prison and further ordered him to pay nearly $540,000 in restitution.
Danhach resides in Houston but is a legal permanent resident of the U.S. from Lebanon. He is expected to face deportation proceedings following his release from prison.
Five others are charged in the case. Two of those have pleaded guilty, while three remain as fugitives and warrants remain outstanding for their arrests.
At trial, evidence demonstrated Danhach was a high-ranking fence involved in a multi-million dollar, multi-state criminal enterprise where he received stolen over-the-counter (OTC) medicine, baby formula, health and beauty supplies and shampoo for later re-packaging and shipping.
This criminal enterprise, among other things, engaged in using "boosters," primarily undocumented Central Americans, to steal over-the-counter medication and baby formula. A "booster" is a criminal who steals goods and merchandise not for personal use but for re-sale to a "fence" for a fraction of its retail value.
A "fence" is a person who receives stolen goods and merchandise from "boosters" and others. The "fence" then re-sells the stolen goods and merchandise to third parties for a profit.
The scope of this criminal enterprise ranged from April 2008 to February 2012.
Danhach owned and operated Houston-located SKD Trading Inc. and Lifetime Wholesale Inc., both shell companies operated under several other names used to facilitate their illegal activity.
He hired undocumented aliens from Central and South America to travel throughout the United States to steal the OTC, beauty products and baby formula from major retail chain stores such as Target, Wal-Mart, CVS and Walgreens.
He facilitated this interstate travel by renting cars for the boosters and by paying the boosters in cash for the stolen merchandise.
To avoid detection by law enforcement, the undocumented aliens would ship the stolen merchandise to Danhach using fraudulent FedEx accounts in his shell company names.
A representative from FedEx testified at trial about the sophistication of Danhach’s scheme stating that Danhach and others set up approximately 29 accounts using various names, company names and addresses without paying for any of the shipments.
Once the stolen merchandise arrived at Danhach’s Houston warehouse, he had his “employees,” remove any retail store identifying labels and security features.
Danhach would then have the stolen products repackaged and then re-sold to wholesalers across the nation.
A search warrant was executed on March 1, 2012, at Danhach’s Houston warehouse, at which time agents seized criminal ledgers maintained by Danhach, which documented the extent of Danhach’s criminal enterprise.
Specifically, the records showed that between August 2011 through January 2012, Danhach was responsible for nearly $3 million in sales of stolen OTC items. At the time of the search, Danhach instructed a co-conspirator to hide a video recording from the warehouse’s security cameras in the warehouse’s ceiling.
The video specifically showed several days worth of stolen merchandise being delivered to the warehouse, undocumented aliens removing the retailers’ labels, then repackaging and shipping the OTC items on pallets.
Several cooperating witnesses testified on behalf of the United States, including one of Danhach’s former employees and several undocumented aliens who had been hired by Danhach to steal merchandise.
Related Federal Cases
- Amanda Dawn Cookson, Interstate Travel or Transportation in Aid of … · Alabama
- Elizabeth Portugal, Interstate Travel or Transportation in Aid of R… · Alabama
- $1.2M Stolen in ID Thefts: Suspects Busted by Feds · Texas
- Tren de Aragua Leaders Unsealed, Terror Cartel Crimes, Texas, 2023 · New York
- Pam Bondi, Money Laundering, Texas, 2023 · Texas
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
ðŸâ€â€™ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News