PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. – Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that a crime ring had been busted in the state — all over a baby formula scheme.
In a release, state officials said that the investigation spanned 15 months, with both state-level investigators and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office taking part.
Investigators identified two of the suspects spearheading the scheme as Mohammed Alsaidi, 59; and Zeina Abdul-Hassan Sou Zabib, 49, of Lake Worth.
WHAT DID THIS SCHEME LOOK LIKE?
Detectives identified a “fencing operation” — one in which a middleman known as a “fence” buys stolen goods from thieves and resells them for profit — run by Alsaidi and Zabib out of a Lake Worth home and a Davie warehouse, officials explained.
Professional shoplifters (i.e. “boosters”) stole baby formula from stores like Publix, Target, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS and Winn-Dixie to sell to the suspects for roughly $10 per can — around one-fifth the price at retail, investigators noted.
“Investigators tied the enterprise to more than 150 baby formula thefts throughout Florida between 2024 and 2026,” the release reads. “Major retailers reported hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.”
Once law enforcement searched the Lake Worth home, though, they were able to recover baby formula, retail merchandise, electronics, and ledgers documenting formula purchases and sales, state officials stated.
WHAT’S NEXT?
According to the release, nine boosters who supplied the enterprise have already been charged, including Kenneth Jones, who allegedly took part in over 50 baby-formula thefts totatling more than $70,000.
Others arrested in the investigation include the following:
Debreka Anderson
Elizabeth Hutchins
Geraldine Kitchen
Vincent Capone
Kelrikkia May
Ayana McKeithen
Curteeciah Bessent
Marnisha Sims
Meanwhile, Alsaidi and Zabib face felony charges of conspiracy to commit racketeering, and two counts of director of dealing in stolen property.
If convicted as charged, both face up to 90 years in prison each.
“Stealing baby formula away from parents who rely on it to feed their children is unconscionable,” Uthmeier said. “This couple sat at the top of a criminal enterprise that paid thieves to clear Florida shelves and then resold the stolen formula for more than a million dollars in profit. Organized retail theft is not a victimless crime, and we will continue to crack down on these enterprises to keep prices low.”
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