Florida man facing ninety years in prison for using taco seasoning packets to steal trading cards

A Florida man faces 90 years in prison for allegedly using 99-cent taco seasoning to steal $10,000 worth of trading cards from Target stores.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 3, 2026, 9:16 AM EST

Source: The information in this article was sourced from Dexerto

Arrest of Keith Wallis in Palm Beach

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has confirmed the arrest of 39-year-old Keith Wallis following a prolonged investigation into retail theft across multiple counties. Prosecutors allege that Wallis was responsible for dozens of coordinated thefts spanning from July 2025 to February 2026. The investigation successfully linked Wallis to a series of losses at various Target locations, marking a significant victory for regional law enforcement tasked with curbing organized retail crime in the state.

Mechanics of the taco seasoning scheme

The alleged theft method involved a deceptive swap during the self-checkout process. Investigators claim that Wallis would select high-value boxes of trading cards and an equivalent number of 99-cent taco seasoning packets. Upon reaching the checkout kiosk, he would reportedly scan the barcodes for the seasoning packets while bagging the trading card bundles. This allowed him to exit the store with premium merchandise while paying only a negligible fraction of the actual retail value, effectively bypassing automated inventory and security systems.

Scale of theft and financial impact

Target stores across Florida reported substantial losses attributed to this specific scheme. Officials estimate that Wallis was involved in approximately 75 separate incidents, resulting in more than 10,000 USD in direct retail losses for the company. However, the financial scale of the operation extended far beyond the value of the stolen goods. Law enforcement officials revealed that Wallis managed to generate nearly 40,000 USD by reselling the stolen cards through an unnamed online marketplace over several months.