Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Las Vegas jewelry store owner pleads guilty in case of stolen watches

A Las Vegas jewelry store owner pleaded guilty Monday to buying and selling more than $196,000 in stolen luxury watches, according to Daniel Bogden, U.S. attorney for the District of Nevada.

Nabil Sakkab, 39, pleaded guilty to two counts of receipt and sale of stolen goods. In his plea agreement, Sakkab acknowledged the following:

Between September 2011 and February 2012, Sakkab knowingly purchased stolen Rolex and Tag Heuer watches from someone at a Las Vegas jewelry store Sakkab previously co-owned.

He then resold the watches, which were stolen in other states, at the store and in private sales to third parties for personal profit.

The thefts cost victims $196,500, according to the plea agreement between Sakkab and the Department of Justice.

The case was investigated by the FBI and Metro Police's Special Investigations Section, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Brown.

The investigation was launched as part of a federal and local law enforcement effort to combat organized retail theft, which cost retailers an estimated $15 billion to $37 billion annually according to the federal government.

“According to a December 2012 report prepared for Congress, organized retail crime exposes the United States to economic, public health, and domestic security dangers,” Bogden said in a statement. “Additionally, consumers end up paying for the losses in the form of higher prices on goods, and states lose the tax revenue that would otherwise be generated from the sale of these goods by legitimate retailers.”

Sakkab is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 28 at 10:30 a.m. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.

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