Nov. 13--A Northbrook husband and wife pleaded guilty Friday to a decadelong nationwide shoplifting scheme that netted millions of dollars worth of merchandise they later sold on eBay.
"Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!" Lela Bogdanov said in a heavy accent when asked by U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood how she pleaded to two counts of transporting stolen goods across state lines. Her husband, Branko Bogdanov, pleaded guilty to the same charges in a separate hearing.
The couple admitted in a plea agreement with prosecutors to stealing as much as $9.5 million in goods dating to 2004.
Despite his admission of guilt, when the judge asked Branko Bogdanov if the facts in the plea were correct, he said the amount prosecutors claimed he'd stolen were "ridiculous."
"You can't make millions stealing one or two items from a store," he said.
Both Branko Bogdanov, 59, and Lela, 53, face up to about six years in prison when they are sentenced in March. Their attorneys, however, said they plan to argue for far more lenient terms.
The couple's 36-year-old daughter, Julia Bogdanov, pleaded guilty on Thursday to her involvement in the scheme.
The Bogdanovs were arrested in March 2014 after federal authorities followed the family on a four-day, cross-country stealing spree in their gray Honda Odyssey minivan, according to a criminal complaint filed at the time. Prosecutors said the family stole with startling efficiency, hiding items under a bulky black dress worn by Lela Bogdanov that had been outfitted with special compartments.
In one stop at a Toys R Us outside New Orleans, agents were watching as a gust of wind blew the mother's dress open, revealing a package contained in a blue lining "that appeared to be some kind of carrying device," the charges alleged. Agents also noted that her "stomach appeared more square or rectangular than usual, and it appeared that she was holding something against her stomach with her right arm," according to the complaint.
The family originally is from the former Yugoslavia, and both Branko and Lela Bogdanov will likely face deportation upon conviction and the completion of any prison sentence. Branko Bogdanov has remained in custody, while his wife was freed earlier this year after the couple posted their $1.4 million home as collateral.
At the conclusion of her hearing Friday, Lela Bogdanov begged the judge to let her husband out of jail for the holidays.
"I want to be with him for Christmas, please!" she said.
The judge declined to release him.
jmeisner@tribpub.com
