Middlesex County, New Jersey, Man Admits Using ‘Booster Bag’ To Steal Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars Worth Of Barnes & Noble Merchandise

TRENTON N.J. – A Middlesex County, New Jersey, man today admitted shoplifting Barnes and Noble merchandise, selling the goods on eBay and failing to report the illicit proceeds to the IRS, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Dominick James Izzo, 49, of Piscataway, New Jersey, and Port Orange, Florida, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson to an information charging him with one count of transportation of stolen goods and one count of tax evasion.

According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Izzo admitted that he stole merchandise from Barnes & Noble stores in New Jersey, Florida and elsewhere using a “booster bag” lined with aluminum to evade anti-theft alarms. He then listed the stolen merchandise on eBay using nominee seller accounts to conceal his identity. Izzo accepted payment for the stolen merchandise from purchasers via nominee PayPal accounts. Once Izzo received funds via domestic wire transfer from the purchasers, he shipped the stolen merchandise from New Jersey and Florida to the purchasers in several different states.

For the tax years 2009, 2010 and 2011, Izzo admitted he intentionally failed to report $399,485 in income he received in connection with the sale of stolen merchandise from Barnes & Noble and other businesses. As a result, Izzo owed the government approximately $67,360.

The transportation of stolen goods count to which Izzo pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The tax evasion count carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for June 10, 2016.  

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Maria L. Kelokates, and special agents of IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, with the investigation leading to today’s plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lakshmi Srinivasan Herman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

Defense Counsel: Patrick McMahon Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark.