Four Rhode Island men arrested in connection with organized robbery ring targeting people of South Asian descent in some of Massachusetts’ wealthiest communitiesauthorities announced Friday.
The four men, some of whom are related, are responsible for 43 burglaries totaling more than $4 million in valuables that occurred in 25 Massachusetts cities between 2018 and 2024, said Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan, to reporters at a press conference Friday morning.
Jovan Lemon, 29, of Providence, Rhode Island; Paul Lemon, 30, of Warwick, Rhode Island; Steven Berdugo, 28, of Providence, Rhode Island; and Paul Miller, 46, of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, who were arrested at their home Friday morning, are “connected to a gang based in Providence, Rhode Island and well known to Rhode Island law enforcement,” a Ryan said.
Paul Miller is the father of Jovan Lemon and Paul Lemon, who are brothers, Ryan said.
The four men were indicted by a Middlesex grand jury on April 18 on a total of 95 counts of unarmed burglary and breaking and entering of a dwelling house during daylight hours with intent to commit a crime, Ryan said.
Samir Desai is one of 43 Indian and South Asian families robbed as part of the large-scale criminal network.
“When we came back, everything was upside down,” said Deasi, whose home was burglarized last July.
They robbed Samir and his wife last summer while the couple were on vacation, stealing a valuable diamond ring and much more.
“They went through every room and collected the most valuable items they could find,” Desai said.
The crooks caught only once under surveillance carried shovels and a ladder to access second-story windows.
Desai says they took valuables, particularly attacking Indians and South Asians.
“We are losing the sense of belonging, safety and security. We should insist on some sort of hate crime over this,” he said. “I hope that we will continue our vigilance, our vigilance so that this does not happen to us again.”
Desai and his wife got their diamond back. He’s not sure he’ll get anything else.
“They were sophisticated both in avoiding cameras and other surveillance devices. We believe they were also using Wi-Fi jammers,” Ryan said. She added that the accused thieves did not use cell phones during the robberies.
“These individuals were also very disciplined in that they had virtually no cell phone use during the time they were going to, carrying out and abandoning the robberies that had taken place,” Ryan said.
The victims, who were not home at the time of the thefts, were “really traumatized and, in some cases, really robbed of pieces of their heritage,” Ryan said.
