Steve Scott

Simultaneous raids on 12 Birmingham area pawn shops and one home led to felony arrests of 16 people in connection with a large-scale retail theft ring.

Teams of investigators from the Jefferson County Regional Financial Crimes Task Force, which is headed by the office of District Attorney Brandon Falls and the U.S. Secret Service, fanned out Friday morning armed with search and arrest warrants at the businesses, which serve as pawn shops and provide payday loans and check cashing.

The Financial Crimes Task Force includes Vestavia Hills, Birmingham and Mountain Brook police, the U.S. Postal Service, Walmart and Target. Pelham police and the Shelby County District Attorney's Office also took part in today's arrests.

At 10 a.m., officers descended on stores in Jefferson and Shelby counties, handcuffing employees and seizing dozens of boxes of business records and stolen goods.

"The investigation uncovered organized retail theft and purchasing of stolen property that reached into the hundreds of thousands of dollars,'' Falls said.

Jefferson County District Attorney Investigator Chris Clark and Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Raulston said the investigation began about three months ago when retailers realized hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise was being boosted off the shelves.

Fitbits, iPads and other "smart products" were disappearing from Walmart, Target, CVS, Walgreen's and Home Depot. Investigators from those stores teamed up with federal and Jefferson County authorities to launch Operation Get Fit, which culminated in today's roundup.

What they found was the stolen items being sold to the dozen of stores owned by Shelby County resident and business owner Steve Scott. Scott's home, as well as 12 of his businesses were hit Friday.

Vestavia Hllls police Capt. Kevin York said the retailers provided undercover officers with goods to present as stolen to the businesses owned by Scott. "The new, in-the-box property was presented as stolen,'' York said. "The clerks knew it was stolen when they took it in."

"Fitbits is what got it started but I saw a little bit of everything,'' he said. "This is a big operation. It's a million-dollar business."

As of 4:30 p.m., investigators were only halfway through inventory on the stolen items recovered today, and said they've already documented a half-million worth of fenced goods.

The businesses raided were: Cash 101, 3183 Pelham Pkwy.; Check Exchange, 1415 Pinson Valley Pkwy.; Cash Plus, 615 19th St. North, Bessemer; Cash Max, 3569 Pelham Pkwy.; Check Exchange, 9541 Parkway East; Cash Max, Allison-Bonnett Memorial Drive, Hueytown; Cash Max, 1205 Ashville Road, Montevallo; Check Exchange, 1240 Forestdale Blvd.; Cash Max, 602 Springville Road; Scott's Jewelry and Pawn, 4673 U.S. 280; Cash Max, 825 9th Ave. North, Bessemer, and Scott's Jewelry and Pawn, 608 Springville Road.

Those arrested face felony charges ranging from theft to receiving stolen property. They are: Steve Scott, 58; Shannon Norwood, 46; Cynthia Graves, 38; Taylor McMonigal, 27; Latonya Graham, 38; Tara Vincent Tate, 34; Sheila Kennebrew, 51; Tamika Williams, 39; Serena Parker Garrett, 34; April England, 36; Talitha Warren, 34; Latonya Jack, 31; Nathalie Alarcon, 26; Atasha Beam, 31; Cody McBride, 32; and Sarah Vickers, 38.

Falls said he is pleased his office could be a part of the investigation. "This is a great example of cooperation between police departments, federal agencies, private businesses and what they can accomplish together,'' he said.

Investigators spent all day collecting and documenting evidence. York said the public can expect to see more investigations like Operation Get Fit. "It hurts everybody because the retailer passes the losses on to the buyers,'' he said. "They have to make up for what they've lost, and that causes everybody to pay more. That affects you, me, everybody."