A Detroit business owner has been charged for his alleged involvement in a Sam’s Club theft and resale ring, state officials announced.

Sean Allos, 54, was arraigned Monday before Judge Christopher Blount in Third Circuit Court on one count of conducting a criminal enterprise, a 20-year felony, and eight counts of receiving and concealing stolen property over $1,000, a five-year felony.

The West Bloomfield Township resident was charged by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in April and bound over to stand trial in circuit court the next month, officials said. He is next scheduled to appear in court before Judge Darnella Williams-Claybourne on June 30.

In January 2023, Nessel’s FORCE Team launched an investigation into an alleged food stamp fraud operation, which involved illegally obtaining electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card data from 8,000 cardholders mostly living in other states, primarily California, authorities said.

FORCE targets criminal organizations that steal products from retailers to repackage and sell for a profit, according to Nessel’s office.

The operation involving Allos allegedly reproduced EBT cards in Michigan with the data then used them for fraudulent purchases of energy drinks from Metro Detroit Sam’s Club stores, investigators said.

Sam’s Club representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reached Wednesday, Allos’ attorney, Arthur Jay Weiss, the president of the firm Arthur Jay Weiss & Associates PC, said he questions the accuracy of what state officials disseminated.

“On the basis of what I’ve reviewed so far, the notion that my client is some mastermind of a multi-state fraudulent ring does not conform with what the attorney general’s office has given us,” Weiss said. “I mean, if their allegation is… my client was a mastermind of some multi-state organization (and) dedicates $4 million worth of fraud, that’s not borne out by the discovery materials that I’ve reviewed.”

Allos allegedly purchased the energy drinks below market value with the intent to resell them, officials said.

The ring is responsible for fraudulently purchasing and reselling thousands of dollars worth of energy drinks.

“Organized retail crime remains a growing threat to our communities and local businesses,” Nessel said in a statement. “Our FORCE Team continues to work with law enforcement and retail partners to investigate and prosecute these coordinated schemes. My office remains committed to dismantling these criminal operations and holding perpetrators accountable.”

Weiss said he believes Nessel’s office is attempting to “litigate” the case through the media. “And that’s not what the code of professional responsibility and professionalism indicates when it comes to criminal prosecutions. It should be litigated in a courtroom.”

The charges follow probes targeting other theft rings in Michigan.

In late March, a Detroit man accused of breaking into cars in Oakland County to steal credit cards, drivers’ licenses and other items was charged.

Weeks earlier, three Detroit men accused of being part of a ring that stole hundreds of vehicles in southeast Michigan were ordered to stand trial.

Also in February, two Detroit men were accused of being part of an auto theft ring that targeted dealerships in Macomb, Oakland and Genesee counties.