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Police recover $400K worth of merchandise stolen from Ridgedale Nordstrom

Minnetonka Police said two people who worked at the Nordstrom department store were arrested on felony theft.

MINNETONKA, Minn. — Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stolen merchandise, including shoes, purses and clothing, was recently recovered by Minnetonka Police.

According to the department, officers recovered more than $400,000 worth of items believed to be stolen from the Nordstrom at Ridgedale Center after executing a warrant in Plymouth on May 4. Items included Christian Louboutin shoes, Prada, Chanel and Valentino handbags and designer clothing.

Denis Palamarchuk and wife Tanya Alysheva, who both worked at the Nordstrom, were arrested on felony theft. Police said they had been going through a divorce.

According to a criminal complaint, Palamarchuk was caught on surveillance camera in April 2022 packing high-end items into boxes and taking them from the store. In a statement to police, Palamarchuk admitted to stealing about 20 items from Nordstrom and said he was selling them to pay his bills.

During the investigation, officers learned that Alysheva, Palamarchuk's wife, knew he was stealing from Nordstrom and helped sell the items on eBay, court documents say. 

Minnetonka Police Detective Heather Olson, who investigates retail crimes at Ridgedale, said she has never seen any theft of this scale during her career.

"No, nothing like that. When we did the search warrant at the house, the house was full of stolen items," Olson said. "And it was kind of a shock to all of the detectives." 

At the Plymouth home, detectives also found more than $46,000 in cash, which they determined were proceeds from selling the stolen items.

The pair had been selling the merchandise on their eBay account, according to police, and had 215 online postings at the time of their arrest.

Court documents show that Palamarchuk is currently not in custody, though the state is requesting an arrest warrant is issued. Alysheva is currently in custody, according to a criminal complaint.

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