CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — A DeKalb County mother and her teenage son are among six people indicted on RICO charges following an investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s Organized Retail Crime Unit.
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A grand jury in Cherokee County indicted the group last month, but prosecutors did not discuss the details of the case until Monday morning.
“This is just one step in our ongoing efforts to protect Georgia businesses and consumers from the rising threats of organized retail crime,” said Attorney General Chris Carr. “In Georgia, we won’t look the other way – criminals will be held accountable. We’re proud to be in this fight with District Attorney Susan Treadaway and all of our law enforcement partners, and we won’t rest until these criminal networks are stopped once and for all.”
The indictment named Zachary Gaines, 19, of Rex, Rickey McKinney, 19, of Lithonia, Nakeyta McKinney, 49, of Lithonia, Antonio Pearson, 18, of Rex, Javon Dorsey, 21, of Powder Springs, and Travious Johnson, 20, of Jonesboro. All but one of the six defendants are charged with violating the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Johnson is charged with conspiracy to violate the RICO Act. Gaines is also facing additional charges, including one count of refund fraud and one count of theft by deception, according to the indictment.
“Cherokee County has no tolerance for organized retail crime,” said District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway, Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit, Cherokee County. “We are thankful for the partnership with Attorney General Chris Carr and the work of his Organized Retail Crime Unit as we work together to combat organized retail crime in our community.”
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Prosecutors accused the defendants of operating an organized retail crime scheme that targeted T.J. Maxx and HomeGoods locations in Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and Mississippi. The indictment alleges that the group stole tens of thousands of dollars from the stores and then converted the stolen items into more than $40,000 in cash.
The indictment accused the defendants of using the following five-step plan to defraud the stores from June 14, 2024, to January 5, 2025:
Step One: The defendants are alleged to have shoplifted several high-end items, such as kitchen appliances or bedsheets, from a T.J. Maxx or HomeGoods store.
Step Two: The defendants are alleged to have traveled to a second T.J. Maxx or HomeGoods location to return those shoplifted items for store credit in the form of a gift card. As asserted in the indictment, the defendants completed this return using either a stolen I.D. card or that of another person.
Step Three: The defendants are alleged to have traveled to a third T.J. Maxx or HomeGoods location, where they utilized the gift card and a debit card to purchase multiple items, often purses or perfumes. This process provides a receipt showing a debit card purchase.
Step Four: The defendants are alleged to have traveled to several different T.J. Maxx or HomeGoods locations to return these most recently purchased items. To complete these returns, the defendants are alleged to have used the receipt showing a partial debit card purchase, allowing for the entire refund to be processed to the debit card account.
Step Five: Once enough returns were processed, the defendants are alleged to have traveled to an ATM, where they used the debit card to withdraw the funds.
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On Monday, Channel 2’s Michael Seiden spoke exclusively with the head of the Organized Retail Crime unit about the indictment and the investigation.
“This is the first indictment that we as a unit have done,” said Timothy Ruffini, a former assistant Cobb County prosecutor who came to the AG’s office in 2024 to lead and help with the launch of the new unit. “It’s not shoplifting. This is large-scale theft.”
Ruffini declined to comment on the specifics of this case, citing the ongoing prosecution, but he said that it’s very common for these types of organized crime rings to be connected to larger criminal organizations.
“It is seed money for human trafficking, as well as drugs, guns, and gangs,” he added.
In Georgia alone, businesses are estimated to lose more than $3 billion to retail theft annually, according to the AG’s office. It also includes $1.6 billion in stolen goods and $326 million in lost tax revenue, along with 17,000 lost jobs.
Nationwide losses total over $125 billion, with nearly 76% of retailers reporting physical assault against an associate as a result of organized retail crime.
“Defrauding businesses in our community is unacceptable,” said State Rep. Brad Thomas, Chairman of the House Special Committee on Resource Management. “I’m grateful to the Attorney General’s Organized Retail Crime Unit for holding these bad actors accountable. Georgia is the No. 1 state to do business for a reason. We will not tolerate this behavior.”
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