Sisters accused of stealing more than $75,000 in cosmetics from Ulta stores in 3-day theft spree

PHOENIX (AZFamily/Gray News) — Two sisters are facing charges of organized retail theft after prosecutors say they stole more than $75,000 in cosmetics from more than a dozen Ulta Beauty stores across Arizona.

Police said Ivonne Buitrago-Cabrera and Yoraima Buitrago-Cabrera walked into Ulta stores, stuffed cosmetics into bags and walked out of 13 locations over three days earlier in July.

A Phoenix police spokesperson said the two are sisters from Colombia and together have stolen more than $155,000 between Arizona and California stores.

Karl De La Guerra, an international security consultant, said stores face ongoing challenges in preventing this type of crime.

“It’s very difficult for these stores to stop, again, because of the frequency that these incidents occur,” De La Guerra said.

Between January and the end of June, police agencies submitted 344 organized retail crime cases to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for prosecution. Both the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office have task forces dedicated to this type of crime.

David Lake, CEO of the Center on Shadow Economics and a retired Phoenix police sergeant, said the scale of the problem is growing.

“Organized retail crime at scale is outrunning the government’s ability to deal with it exponentially,” Lake said.

Lake said beauty products are commonly targeted because of their resale value.

“Beauty products, like tobacco, alcohol, medicine, they’re consumable and desirable. So, we can tell what the market is,” Lake said.

Lake said criminals attempt to resell stolen products, and the effects extend beyond the theft itself. He added that product losses can cost workers their jobs and drive businesses away from entire neighborhoods.

Lake said law enforcement must find creative ways to dedicate more resources to retail crime.

“The economic realities of crime do eventually come to light. Do they come to light in time for there to be change? We’re not seeing that change in the other big cities,” Lake said.

Both Ivonne Buitrago-Cabrera and Yoraima Buitrago-Cabrera are currently facing nine counts of organized retail theft. Police said the four other incidents were discovered after the original charges were filed.

Police also said the two women are linked to thefts at Lacoste, Adidas, Puma and Crocs stores.

The two are being held on $75,000 cash-only bonds for their Arizona cases.

Organized retail theft is a class 4 felony in Arizona and can carry a prison sentence from one year up to nearly four years.