(The Center Square) – Lisa Roussey, 60, of Farmington Hills, was sentenced to 3-10 years’ in jail for three counts of organized retail fraud by Judge Cheryl Matthews in the 6th Circuit Court in Oakland, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Lisa Roussey pled no contest in October to three counts for operating a theft and resale scheme of KitchenAid brand stand mixers from metro Detroit Target stores that also involved her son, Brian Roussey, 31, of Farmington Hills.
Brian pled guilty to three counts of organized retail fraud and was sentenced to 128 days’ incarceration and two years’ probation. He was additionally ordered to pay $20,108 in restitution to retailer Target. Lisa Roussey also has been ordered to pay $20,108 in restitution jointly with her son to Target.
Roussey and her son began stealing KitchenAid mixers in late 2020 and through late 2022, entering Metro Detroit Target locations walking out with the product without making a purchase, and selling the stolen appliances on public online forums such as Facebook Marketplace. The stand mixers retail for as much as $500 per unit and losses from Target total above $20,000. Lisa Roussey’s sentence is longer than Brian’s due to her significant history of theft-related crime.
The case against the Rousseys was investigated by the Attorney General’s newly established Organized Retail Crime Unit operating within the Michigan State Police as the FORCE Team and the Farmington Hills Police Department.
The Farmington Hills Police Department’s Directed Patrol Unit received a tip regarding this ongoing criminal activity, and their investigators immediately investigated, interviewing numerous witnesses, weeks of surveillance and executing 13 search warrants.
As a result of their investigation, it arrested the Rousseys and worked collaboratively with the FORCE Team to ensure detailed evidence was submitted to the Attorney General’s Office for criminal prosecution.
“The FORCE Team’s success in this instance can be directly attributed to collaboration and teamwork with multiple law enforcement agencies,” Nessel said in a statement. “I would like to specifically thank the efforts of those detectives and officers with the Farmington Hills Police Department whose long hours and hard work led to the arrest of the Roussey’s.”
The ‘FORCE’ Team and the Organized Retail Crime Unit were established in January to target criminal organizations that steal products from retailers to repackage and sell for a profit.
Two assistant attorneys general serve the unit full time, working with special agents within the Department of Attorney General and Michigan State Police detectives to investigate and prosecute these crimes. This is a first-in-the-nation unit, unique in the 50 states as being the first such unit with embedded, dedicated staff from the Department of Attorney General.
The FORCE Team works with retailers and local law enforcement agencies to combat organized retail crime.
Recent corporate partners on investigations have included Sam’s Club/Walmart, Meijer, Target, Home Depot, TJ Maxx, Rite-Aid, Lululemon, Ulta, and Lowe’s. The team’s first major investigation produced charges against seven individuals earlier this year.
