April 20, 2026 · Updated April 20, 2026
Two BJ's employees in Valley Stream were arrested for stealing $175K through fake returns over three months.
Two employees at the BJ's Wholesale Club in Valley Stream have been arrested and charged with grand larceny after allegedly processing $175,000 in fraudulent returns over a three-month period, according to Nassau County police.
Ranaldo Davis, 19, of Queens, and Marquis Johnson, 31, of Westbury, allegedly exploited their access to BJ's return systems to process thousands of dollars in fake returns between January 13 and April 12, 2026. The fraudulent transactions totaled approximately $175,000 — an average of roughly $1,900 per day over the three-month period.
Police have not disclosed exactly how the pair executed the scheme, but retail return fraud typically involves processing refunds for merchandise that was never actually returned, or manipulating return records to divert funds.
Both men were arrested on Tuesday, April 14, without incident. They face charges of Grand Larceny in the 2nd Degree and Falsifying Business Records in the 1st Degree. They were scheduled for arraignment at First District Court on April 15.
Grand Larceny in the 2nd Degree is a Class C felony in New York, carrying a potential sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
The case is part of a broader pattern of retail fraud affecting Long Island businesses. While much attention has focused on shoplifting and organized retail crime rings, insider theft — employees exploiting their access to inventory and financial systems — accounts for a significant portion of retail losses nationwide.
The Valley Stream BJ's, located on Sunrise Highway, is one of the busiest wholesale club locations in Nassau County. BJ's Wholesale Club recently extended store hours across its Long Island locations, a move that also increases the window for potential internal fraud if oversight doesn't keep pace.
