COSTA MESA, Calif. — A California woman is accused of stealing items worth more than $328,000 from retail stores and attempting to resell the items through a luxury online consignment store, prosecutors said.
Ekaterina Zharkova, 38, of Costa Mesa, was charged with four felony counts of grand theft, one felony count of receiving stolen property, and seven misdemeanor counts of petty theft, according to Orange County Sheriff’s office online booking records.
Zharkova faces a maximum sentence of nine years and two months if convicted on all counts, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer announced in a news release Friday.
Between Oct. 7 and Nov. 23, 2021, Zharkova is accused of going to several T.J. Maxx and Nordstrom Rack stores in Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley and Tustin. Prosecutors said Zharkova filled empty shopping bags with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise and left without paying, KTLA reported.
According to the California Highway Patrol’s Organized Retail Theft task force, Zharkova stole brand-name goods such as Gucci, Prada, Ramy Brook, Dodo Bar and Jimmy Choo, KNBC reported. Authorities said she would use tools to remove sensor devices before leaving stores with the stolen goods, according to the television station.
Zharkova was arrested on Nov. 23 after a CHP investigator witnessed her stealing more than $3,500 in merchandise from a Nordstrom Rack in Costa Mesa, KTLA reported. She was released two days later after posting $20,000 bail, according to online booking records.
A search warrant was served at Zharkova’s home, which was “packed wall to wall in every room” with stolen merchandise worth more than $328,000, according to CHP. The items still had their store tags and disabled security sensors in place, KTLA reported.
“Shoplifting and other retail theft is out of control across California as a result of reckless laws that have made the risk far less than the potential reward,” Spitzer said in the news release. “These are not victimless crimes and if you engage in these kinds of outrageous theft schemes we’re going to arrest you, we’re going to prosecute you, and we’re putting you behind bars.”
Zharkova also has open felony grand theft cases in Orange County and Los Angeles, prosecutors said.
She failed to appear in court Friday on charges of possession of burglary tools in a separate case, which she had pleaded not guilty to, KNBC reported.
Zharkova was arrested Sunday on those charges and remains in the Orange County Jail, according to online booking records.