Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has been in office less than a year.
But he's already putting criminals on notice.
And Florida’s Attorney General just sent one message that has every retail thief shaking.
Palm Beach couple faces 170 years behind bars after Attorney General's task force strikes
Caleb Rashaun Frederick and Ne'osha Lasha Taylor thought they had the perfect hustle.
The Palm Beach couple allegedly hit 40 stores across South Florida over two months, stealing household appliances and laundry products before hawking them on Facebook Marketplace.¹
They worked like a team, one playing lookout while the other walked out with the goods.¹
Target, Publix, Walmart, Macy's, JCPenney — they hit them all.¹
The take? Roughly $31,000 in stolen merchandise.¹
But Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier was waiting.
Uthmeier announced the arrest of Frederick, 29, and Taylor, 29, who now face a combined 170 years in state prison if convicted on all charges.¹
Frederick is looking at 95 years while Taylor could get 75 years behind bars.¹
"These types of thefts burden Florida's families by driving up prices as stores try to cover their losses," Uthmeier said. "We are going to prioritize the safety and well-being of law-abiding Floridians by putting thieves behind bars and keeping prices down."¹
https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/1995874005937422472?s=20
The arrests came shortly after Uthmeier created the Retail Theft Special Investigative Task Force — a unit designed to crush organized retail crime rings operating across Florida.¹
The task force gives law enforcement the power to aggregate smaller thefts into serious felony charges under the Office of Statewide Prosecution.¹
That means retail thieves who thought they could fly under the radar by keeping individual thefts small are about to get hammered with major prison time.
Facebook Marketplace has become ground zero for stolen goods
Frederick and Taylor weren't exactly criminal masterminds.
They were selling stolen merchandise on Facebook Marketplace — the same platform law enforcement watches like hawks.
And the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office was tracking them the whole time.
The problem is bigger than two thieves in Palm Beach.
Florida retailers got hammered for $5.4 billion in 2022 alone.²
Only California and Texas lost more merchandise to thieves.²
Think about this: Florida families paid an extra $679 million in lost sales tax revenue because criminals were walking out of stores with whatever they wanted.²
The organized theft rings — and that's what these are, organized crime — have exploded 27% since 2020.³
We're talking $45 billion stolen nationwide every year.³
These aren't teenagers swiping candy bars.
Professional crews hit stores for high-value items, then turn around and sell everything on Facebook Marketplace before the stores even know what's missing.
Facebook Marketplace has become the preferred platform because thieves can list items quickly and connect with local buyers before law enforcement catches on.⁴
The company claims it has systems to detect stolen goods, but police say Facebook is notoriously slow to respond and cooperate with investigations — forcing officers to give up or find workarounds.⁴
Uthmeier is bringing the hammer down on retail crime
Attorney General Uthmeier isn't playing around.
The 37-year-old former chief of staff to Governor Ron DeSantis was sworn in as Florida's 39th attorney general in February 2025.⁵
Before joining the governor's office, Uthmeier served as senior counsel and senior advisor in the Trump administration's Department of Commerce.⁵
He graduated from the University of Florida and Georgetown University Law Center.⁵
Uthmeier has made retail theft enforcement a priority since taking office.
His Retail Theft Special Investigative Task Force already participated in a nationwide organized retail crime blitz in June that resulted in 44 arrests across Florida — including three illegal aliens — and recovered more than $207,000 in stolen assets.⁶
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1777777527349477813?s=20
Frederick and Taylor are just the latest criminals to feel the weight of Uthmeier's crackdown.
Florida passed new legislation in 2024 that created graduated penalties for retail theft.⁷
Theft under $100 can land someone in jail for up to 60 days with $500 in fines.⁷
Organized retail theft? That's a third-degree felony carrying up to five years in prison and $5,000 in fines.⁷
The message Uthmeier is sending is crystal clear: If you steal in Florida, you're going to pay.
Retailers across America are getting crushed by theft — many major chains are closing locations because they can't operate profitably when criminals are walking out with merchandise daily.
But Florida is fighting back.
And Uthmeier just showed every retail thief in the state that their Facebook Marketplace hustle is over.
¹ Attorney General James Uthmeier, "Attorney General James Uthmeier Announces Arrest of Palm Beach Couple in Large-Scale Retail Theft Scheme," Office of the Attorney General, December 2, 2025.
² Capital One Shopping, "Shoplifting Statistics (2025): Retail Theft Data by State," May 4, 2025.
³ Avigilon, "Shoplifting Statistics 2025: Retail Theft Facts and Trends," October 2, 2025.
⁴ NBC Chicago, "How Retail Theft Rings Use Facebook Marketplace to Sell Stolen Goods," December 30, 2021.
⁵ Ballotpedia, "James Uthmeier," accessed December 3, 2025.
⁶ Florida Department of Law Enforcement, "FDLE: Dozens arrested in statewide retail theft operations," June 13, 2025.
⁷ SecurityTagStore.com, "Florida and California Lead the Charge Against Retail Theft with Landmark 2025 Reforms," January 7, 2025.
