The Bonsall home on the market is spectacular, boasting four bedrooms, five baths, a sparkling pool and a wine cellar. The expansive grounds include a casita, a chapel, stone bridges and a vineyard. There’s also a four-car garage.
And that’s where authorities found thousands of stolen beauty products when they raided the place last December, turning up $300,000 worth of makeup and other goods — one agent called it a “mini store” — that prosecutors said were being fenced online. The residents at the time were a wife-and-husband duo who are now trading a wine cellar for a cell. Authorities said Michelle and Kenneth Mack were behind a multimillion-dollar theft ring targeting makeup stores such as Ulta Beauty and Sephora.
The goods were sold on Amazon under a storefront named Online Makeup Store, authorities said. Items went for perhaps half the retail price. Officials said the thefts spanned 21 counties from San Diego to Sonoma dating back to December 2021, and losses to the retailers neared $8 million.
In February, the state Attorney General’s Office announced charges against the Macks. Women who were allegedly recruited to steal the items were also charged. “It was complex, it was orchestrated, it was organized, and in response it deserves, it requires, an organized response — which is exactly what you’re seeing up here,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said at a news conference at the time.
In June, the Macks pleaded guilty in San Diego Superior Court to thre.