Thuy Thu Do
By Kelly Cantwell
Editor

A Batavia woman was convicted in Warren County on Nov. 21 for purchasing stolen formula and selling it overseas.

Thuy Thu Do, 35, was involved in an organized retail theft ring. She pleaded guilty to five counts of receiving stolen property, a fifth degree felony, possession of criminal tools, a fifth degree felony, and one count of receiving stolen property, a first degree misdemeanor, according to a release from Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell.

Do was sentenced to 30 days in jail and $14,025 in restitution by Judge Don Oda. She forfeited her vehicle, with the value to be applied to her restitution.

The Warren County Prosecutor’s Office was able to convict Do because of a partnership between law enforcement and The Kroger Company to investigate organized retail crime, the release states.

From Aug. 24 to Oct. 20, 2015, the Lebanon and Monroe Police Departments investigated Do after they discovered she was buying stolen baby formula and sending it to Vietnam, where her contacts would sell the formula and give Do the proceeds.

Officers worked undercover and set up six separate buys with Do. The Kroger Company provided the baby formula, which officers represented to Do as stolen. She purchased $14,025 worth of baby formula from officers at about a quarter of its retail value, the release states.

A person can be charged with receiving stolen property when part of an undercover operation if law enforcement portrays the items as stolen and the person then knowingly purchases them, according to Ohio law.

Retail crime costs retailers billions each year, especially on items such as baby formula and over-the-counter medications. This costs consumers in America billions as they pay higher prices for products, Fornshell said in the release.