Glen Ellyn woman accused of organizing $900k merchandise fraud scheme

GLEN ELLYN, Ill. — Federal charges have been filed against a suburban woman accused of conducting a $900,000 merchandise fraud scheme in Chicagoland.

A recently unsealed federal indictment charges 40-year-old Iryna Boguslavska, a Glen Ellyn resident, with one count of wire fraud in connection with the alleged fraud scheme.

According to prosecutors, Boguslavska allegedly conducted the scheme over a three-year period, between October 2020 and October 2023, by purchasing high-end clothing online and later returning the items in person multiple times, sometimes even returning cheaper alternatives in place of the more costly merchandise.

In addition to repeatedly returning the items, prosecutors say Boguslavska also allegedly falsely claimed that some items she purchased online never arrived in order to get additional refunds for the items.

While the complaint does not identify the retailer impacted, it does name only one company and the photos in the complaint appear to show Boguslavska allegedly conducting the returns at a TJ Max store.

Additionally, prosecutors said Boguslavska visited several locations around Chicago to conduct what they called “several overlapping fraud schemes.

Prosecutors say Boguslavska used face coverings and fake names to allegedly conceal her identity, cycled through several addresses and credit cards when conducting the transactions.

In one example detailed in the complaint, Boguslavska allegedly enacted a return for a dress worth $637 in January of 2022, but it was later determined that she had allegedly swapped the real dress for a cheaper alternative that did not match anything in the store’s inventory.

In another alleged incident from July 2022, prosecutors said Boguslavska allegedly purchased a $424 swimsuit and enacted 11 different returns at stores around Chicagoland, which allegedly resulted in a $5,100 loss for the business.

During a search of Boguslavska’s home, prosecutors said investigators allegedly uncovered around $201,276 worth of legitimate merchandise, about $109,776 worth of fraudulent merchandise, $6,000 in cash, $53,907 in checks, $10,685 worth of gift cards from the retailer and, 519 American Express gift cards worth $1,848.

Prosecutors said a review of her bank records allegedly showed over 800 credits from the retailer totaling more than $208,000.