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March 25, 2026
LANSING – Cheaira Broughton, 38, of Detroit, pled guilty on March 12 to one count of Conducting a Criminal Enterprise, a 20-year felony, for organizing a high-volume theft ring targeting Ulta Beauty stores in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Broughton was charged by the Department of Attorney General in November 2025.
Broughton organized a rash of “push-out” thefts perpetrated on Ulta Beauty retail locations throughout metro Detroit on more than 13 occasions in October and November 2023. The small, organized group was observed entering the storefront, grabbing as much high-value merchandise as they could carry or load into a shopping basket, and simply walking or running back out the front door into an awaiting getaway vehicle. Total losses to retailers connected to these thefts exceed $30,000. Broughton would then sell the stolen merchandise on Facebook Marketplace.
The investigation was a coordinated collaboration between the FORCE Team, corporate investigators, and state and local law enforcement, including the Michigan State Police and Grosse Pointe, Novi, Canton, Troy, Allen Park, and Birmingham police departments.
“When dismantling theft rings, we must investigate and prosecute organizers behind the scenes who profit from these crimes, and I am proud of my FORCE Team and our retail partners and law enforcement officers who helped stop this enterprise in its tracks and secure this conviction," said Attorney General Nessel. "We remain committed to ensuring that those who lead these dangerous operations face the full weight of the law.”
Broughton will be sentenced by Judge Wanda Evans in the 3rd Circuit Court in Wayne County on April 17, 2026.
The FORCE Team was established in January 2023 by the Attorney General to target criminal organizations that steal products from retailers to repackage and sell for a profit. Two assistant attorneys general serve the unit full time, working with special agents within the Department of Attorney General and Michigan State Police detectives to investigate and prosecute these crimes. The FORCE team also partners with the FBI’s Detroit Fraud and Financial Crimes Task Force and the Postal Inspection Service. This is a first-in-the-nation unit, unique in the 50 states as being the first such unit with embedded, dedicated staff from the Department of Attorney General.
The FORCE Team is dedicated to working collaboratively with retailers and local law enforcement agencies to combat organized retail crime. FORCE is an acronym that stands for Focused Organized Retail Crime Enforcement. Recent corporate partners on investigations have included Sam’s Club/Walmart, Meijer, Target, Home Depot, TJ Maxx, Rite-Aid, Amazon, and Lowe’s.
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