Woman Pleads Guilty In $30K Metro Detroit Theft Ring

A Detroit woman could spend up to 20 years in prison after organizing a theft ring that stole more than $30,000 from multiple Ulta Beauty stores across metro Detroit, according to the Michigan Attorney General's Office.

Cheaira Broughton, 38, pleaded guilty on March 12 to conducting a criminal enterprise, which carries a 20-year felony. She will be sentenced April 17.

Officials said Broughton led a small group who entered the beauty stores and grabbed as much high-value merchandise as they could carry or load into a shopping basket.

The group then simply walked or ran out the front door into a getaway car, officials said.

Broughton then sold the goods on Facebook Marketplace, officials said.

Broughton and her group stole more than $30,000 in merchandise from more than a dozen Ulta Beauty stores across Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties in October and November 2023, officials said.

"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 (Focused Organized Retail Crime Enforcement) Team and our retail partners and law enforcement officers who helped stop this enterprise in its tracks and secure this conviction," Nessel said.

Police in Grosse Pointe, Novi, Canton Township, Troy, Allen Park and Birmingham, as well as Michigan State Police were involved in the investigation, officials said.