HARRISBURG, Pa. — Two men have been charged with stealing nearly $100,000 from Lowe's stores in Lehigh, Northampton and other eastern Pennsylvania counties, the state Attorney General announced Thursday.
Jose Gomez and Ysaias Arajuo, both of Middletown, New York, face felony charges of corrupt organizations, organized retail theft, theft by unlawful taking and other related offenses, Attorney General Dave Sunday said in a release.
Gomez currently is in custody and a warrant was issued for Arajuo's arrest, the release said.
"These defendants orchestrated a sophisticated scheme that targeted unsuspecting customers as well as Lowe's business across numerous counties."State Attorney General Dave Sunday
The men are charged with stealing $99,689 worth of merchandise from 18 Lowe's stores in eight counties between April and Sept. 2025.
An Attorney General's Office spokesman said at least three of the 56 retail thefts occurred in the Lehigh Valley "for several thousand dollars."
Authorities said Gomez and Arajuo used self-checkout kiosks to pay for purchases using information stolen from Lowe's customer accounts.
When customers received bills for the fraudulent charges, they disputed the purchases with the bank that issued their Lowe's card. Lowe's then absorbed the cost of the theft.
"These defendants orchestrated a sophisticated scheme that targeted unsuspecting customers as well as Lowe's business across numerous counties," Sunday said.
"Organized retail theft impacts consumers who will be forced to pay higher prices for goods as businesses raise prices to recover losses."
