San Francisco woman convicted of stealing $60K of goods from Target with self-checkout scam

SAN FRANCISCO ( KRON ) – A San Francisco woman was convicted Friday of stealing more than $60,000 worth of merchandise from a Target store by pretending to pay for the items at self-checkout machines, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office said.

Aziza Graves, 43, now faces up to three years in prison.

The district attorney’s office said Graves had been accused of stealing from a single Target location at the city’s Stonestown Galleria “dozens” of times between Oct 3, 2020, and Nov. 16, 2021. Her scam allegedly involved bringing items to the self-checkout, scanning them, and then inserting “a single coin or bill” into the machine before leaving, the DA’s office said.

The total value of the stolen goods amounted to over $60,000, authorities said.

Officers with the San Francisco Police Department said they watched Graves leave Target twice after carrying out her scheme. She was later seen selling the stolen goods at the city’s UN Plaza.

Graves was arrested in November 2021 and accused by officials of stealing Target merchandise over the course of 120 visits. San Francisco Police Department Chief Bill Scott described her as “a particularly brazen and prolific retail theft offender.”

Graves was originally charged with eight felony counts of grand theft and 120 misdemeanor counts of petty theft. She was ultimately convicted of one felony count of grand theft and 53 misdemeanor counts of petty theft. (One of these counts stemmed from a theft at Abercrombie & Fitch; the rest took place at Target.)

“Individuals such as Aziza Graves commit egregious thefts through brazen and repeated conduct that greatly impacts retailers’ ability to operate and serve the general public in their area,” District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said. “These crimes demand accountability and we need to send the message to others who engage in open and brash thefts that, with the support of our local law enforcement partners, our office will continue to pursue and prosecute those involved.”

Graves is currently not in custody. She is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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