OC woman charged after allegedly stealing $328,000 worth of items from department stores
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. - An Orange County woman is wanted after she allegedly stole about $328,000 worth of items from department stores across the area.
According to the Orange County DA Todd Spitzer's Office, 38-year-old Ekaterina Zharkova stole items from Nordstrom Rack and TJ Maxx stores across Orange County and then tried to resell the stolen goods through a luxury item online consignment store.
Zharkova allegedly targeted the stores in Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley and Tustin between October 7 and November 23, Spitzer's office said in a press release. She was arrested on November 23 by CHP.
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Zharkova is wanted on a $320,000 warrant after she was a no-show to her own court appearance in Orange County on Friday.
Zharkova, of Costa Mesa, is charged with four felony counts of grand theft, one felony count of receiving stolen property and seven misdemeanor counts of petty theft. If convicted, she could face up to nine years and two months of jail time, Spitzer's office said in a press release.
"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 a press 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. I have assigned some of my most experienced investigators to work with the California Highway Patrol’s organized retail theft taskforce and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to help protect Orange County businesses from being victimized and protect consumers from increased costs. We’re not tolerating this in Orange County."
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