Grand jury indicts 2 in multi-state textbook thefts, including at UW System schools

MILWAUKEE — A federal grand jury in Milwaukee has indicted two Texas residents in connection with textbook thefts at colleges around the country.

Federal prosecutors said in a news release the grand jury indicted Ryan Lewis and Genisis Abellar, both of Houston, on Tuesday on charges of conspiracy to transport stolen goods and interstate transportation of stolen property.

Prosecutors said the two stole textbooks from instructors' offices at several University of Wisconsin System schools and shipped the textbooks to a Texas business, which sold them to college students.

They said the two also carried out the same scheme at colleges in Minnesota, North Dakota, Arizona, New Mexico and Washington state.

Online court records didn't list the indictment or attorneys for either man as of Tuesday afternoon.