The story begins with a burglary at a luxurious home in Pacific Palisades. A woman, who wishes to remain anonymous for safety reasons, shared her experience of the theft that occurred while she was in Europe in 2023. During her absence, the only item left in her home was a deep green Birkin bag, which she had only used once for a birthday celebration.
When two thieves scaled her wall and broke through the back door within just 15 minutes, they made off with a collection of high-end handbags from her closet, including the coveted Birkin. “They seemed like professional assassins,” she recalled, emphasizing how meticulously they searched her studio for receipts to prove the bags’ authenticity.
Initially, she thought her Birkin was lost forever, but a few months later, she found her bag listed for sale at a suspiciously low price on a comparison shopping site. Upon reporting this to the authorities, she learned that Hermès Birkin bags had become a new target for a sophisticated criminal syndicate.
Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officials noted that these seasoned criminal groups hail from South America and have been committing numerous breaking-and-entering crimes across the United States in recent years. Like in her case, the syndicates often select high-value items to steal. Unlike typical immigrants, these criminals enter the U.S. specifically to commit thefts, returning home with substantial cash after a successful job.
Post-theft, the stolen items are often funneled to “fences” who launder the goods, turning illegitimate profits into legitimate earnings by reselling them on secondhand websites. Many items that initially retail for upwards of $60,000 can be found online for about $10,000, appealing to buyers who can’t afford retail prices.
In her case, court documents showed that her $37,000 Birkin was sold to a fence, who then placed it on the Redeluxe website for $25,950, accompanied by the tagline “It’s time to realize your Birkin dream!”
The LAPD later formed a task force that successfully identified four suspects from Chile. Initially, the police tracked an SUV they observed around luxury neighborhoods in Palos Verdes and Manhattan Beach. Shortly after, the homeowners of those areas reported thefts totaling nearly $97,000, including handbags and jewelry.
Two days later, the suspects were seen driving their SUV again. The task force followed them to Orange County, where they observed further burglaries in Yorba Linda and Anaheim. It wasn’t until the task force coordinated with local police that three of the suspects were apprehended, while one managed to flee.
However, within 45 minutes, that individual returned to an apartment in Exposition Park and was arrested as well. The police discovered weapons, tools used for burglaries, and an array of stolen goods, including watches, brooches, cufflinks, sunglasses, wallets from Louis Vuitton and Gucci, and a Christian Dior handbag—though the Birkin was not among them.
Investigating further, police looked into the fourth suspect’s cellphone and learned that the Birkin had already changed hands, sold to a fence in Granada Hills. This fence, Karla Sunceri, presented an unexpected profile—an elegant 52-year-old with a freshly renovated home and a Lexus adorned with a frame reading “Jesus is Lord.” Notably, her 27-year-old son, Erick Palencia, was nearing graduation from the police academy.
After monitoring Sunceri’s activities and noting that various individuals were entering her home carrying trash bags and coming out empty-handed, they followed her to a Smart & Final store in North Hills. There, she was seen meeting multiple contacts to retrieve packages.
While the victim of the original burglary felt the LAPD was out of touch, mispronouncing “Hermès” as “荷梅枝,” the police were unfazed by language differences.
On November 1, 2023, at dawn, police executed a search warrant at Sunceri’s home, uncovering 46 designer bags, including 16 Hermès, alongside $121,031 in cash. Additionally, Sunceri’s storage unit contained another $197,100, along with her son’s LAPD uniform. Furthermore, a package Palencia had sent to an auction site was intercepted, recovering a Hermès bag and two Chanel wallets.
Sunceri has been charged with 53 counts of receiving stolen property, conspiracy, and money laundering. Palencia faces charges of conspiracy and receiving stolen goods, along with a felony count for transporting stolen property and profiting from it via his personal account. Just a month away from becoming a police officer, Palencia now finds himself at risk of losing that career path.
Both Sunceri and Palencia plead not guilty, with Sunceri claiming her income from cleaning is a mere $1,655 a month, while Palencia stated his earnings from the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Griffith Observatory are only $2,500 monthly. Judge David Stuart expressed skepticism about their claims but ultimately allowed Sunceri to post bail at $300,000 and Palencia at $100,000.
Despite Sunceri’s arrest, the market for stolen luxury bags remains active. Earlier this year, numerous burglaries targeted upscale residences across Los Angeles, including homes in Beverly Crest, Pacific Palisades, and Bel-Air.
As for the deep green Birkin that kicked off this series of events, it was sold to Redeluxe during the week it was stolen. The victim attempted to reclaim the bag but was offered only $19,000, which she declined—a decision she likely regrets now. While the owners of Redeluxe faced no criminal charges in connection with the incident, the bag is currently en route back to Los Angeles as evidence in the case.
