WHAT’S BEING CLAIMED:
- Some experts say rich people shoplift because they are attempting to temporarily fill a void.
- Andrew Lippi of Florida was arrested for shoplifting just days after he bought an $8m island.
- Other celebrities who were caught shoplifting are Winona Rider (2002) and Lindsay Lohan (2011).
Why do people shoplift? It’s probably because they don’t have the money for what they want. The thing is, what if you’re rich or famous? Experts can list a number of reasons why. Dr. Will Cupchik, a Canadian psychologist, theorizes that wealthy offenders are trying temporarily fill some kind of void and if caught, have difficulties comprehending their own behavior.
A man from Florida, Andrew Lippi, was accused and arrested for shoplifting from a Kmart department store. This was just a few days after he spent a whopping $8 million to buy Thompson Island off Key West. On the other hand, his petty theft amounted to somewhere around $300.
He denied the allegations, putting the blame on a “commercial dispute”. Some of the items that were allegedly stolen were LED light bulbs and a Hamilton Beach coffee maker that cost $55. He then switched the coffee maker with an older model and returned for a full refund.
Other than that, Mr. Lippi also bought a $150 Keurig coffee machine and came back with the box and again got a full refund for it. It was later that employees at Kmart found out that the returned box only contained a basketball.
About the arrest, Lippi said that the Key West police and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department were “kind throughout the whole process”.
Though Lippi was released, ABC News reports that he’s due to appear in court on April 18.
Other shoplifting incidents by the rich and famous that made headlines were when actress Winona Rider in 2002 shoplifted $5,000 worth of clothes in Beverly Hills. Lindsay Lohan was caught shoplifting a $2,500 in 2011 and was ordered to do community service as well as a shoplifting course.
Source: BBC
