Whole Foods Robbery: Rich Investment Banker Arrested For Stealing $210 From Store, Gets Slap On The Wrist

We’re not going to lie: Whole Foods is expensive. And if you live in a big city like New York, Whole Foods is cost prohibitive.

But we’re going to guess and say that if you’re an investment banker — and a successful one — you probably can afford the price of a shopping trip to Whole Foods.

That’s why it was such a shock when Jordan Lupu, an investment banker at a billion dollar firm, was arrested in Tribeca, New York City, after trying to steal $210 in food out from Whole Foods in his children’s stroller, according to the New York Post.

Lupu, 42, was originally caught on camera back in February. The arrest only came to light this week, when his punishment — or, rather, the lack thereof — was revealed.

The police report said that he tried to sneak out more than 30 items from the store, which is only a few blocks away from his $3 million townhouse in Greenwich Village.

“‘Lupu, who was pushing his two kids at the time, tried to “remove three Whole Body products and 28 grocery items from displays and conceal the items underneath [his] baby stroller,’ according to a criminal complaint that came to light this week. ‘[Security] then stopped the defendant and recovered the items, property which belonged to the store and for which the defendant had no receipt, from underneath [his] baby stroller.'”

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— Whole Foods Market (@WholeFoods) July 10, 2017

What’s interesting about all this is that Whole Foods didn’t have him arrested, even though he was caught on camera stealing. Rather, he was issued what’s called a desk appearance ticket (often shortened to DAT, it’s unique to New York City and is given by police to offenders who are charged with misdemeanors. The DAT requires the offender to appear in criminal court in the City of New York at a given time and date, or they will be arrested) and ordered to come back to court in April.

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— Whole Foods Market (@WholeFoods) July 13, 2017

Yesterday, Lupu accepted a plea deal from the attorney for Whole Foods. Lupu’s attorney said that his client’s arrest was “all a misunderstanding.”

“Jordan was pushing a double stroller with his young children and wanted to check the price of an item located behind the cashier, and the only way to reach the item without leaving his children unaccompanied was to walk around the cashier down the ramp toward the item he was looking at but happened to be near the exit. He checked the price and was turning the stroller to go back toward the cashier. He never left the store or had any intention of leaving the store without purchasing the items.”

Lupu’s sentence was an ACOD — an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal. This means that if he stays out of trouble for six months, the case will be dismissed, his record will be clean, and the file will be sealed.

Do you think Jordan Lupu got a fair sentence for stealing from Whole Foods? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

[Featured Image by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]