This story first appeared in a Colorado Community Media newspaper. Support CCM’s neighborhood news.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday announced multiple arrests in what is being called one of the largest money-laundering schemes in Colorado history.
Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said the arrests came after a two-year investigation spanning multiple jurisdictions.
Spurlock said they started investigating the suspected multimillion-dollar laundering scheme when several law enforcement chiefs from local jurisdictions approached him in 2019. They developed a task force that included the following:
- Lone Tree Police Department
- Castle Rock Police Department
- U.S. Secret Service
- U.S. Postal Service
- Aurora Police Department
- Denver Police Department
- U.S. Bureau of Prisons
- Retailers: Albertsons/Safeway, Walmart, Home Depot, Target
Spurlock said with cooperating agencies and help from local retailers, the task force was able to track a scheme involving retail theft. The suspects allegedly would steal items from local retailers and take the product to a facility in Aurora where the items were sold online and sent through the U.S. Postal Service.
Spurlock said the estimated value of the stolen goods is around $5.2 million. He said about $1.7 million in stolen goods was recovered.