CRANBERRY TWP — Two Michigan men face charges here in connection with a multistate motor oil theft ring that covered Butler County and much of Pennsylvania and netted nearly $15,000.

District Judge Dave Kovach of Cranberry Township on Wednesday issued felony arrest warrants for Youssef A. Faraj, 30, of Dearborn; and Shaun Y. Amad, 33, of Dearborn Heights.

The pair is accused of cheating numerous Wal-Mart stores in Cranberry Township and across the state out of money, motor oil and floor mats last year, according to the attorney general’s office.

Investigators suspect Faraj and Amad were part of a crew of thieves based out of the Detroit area that worked the same scheme in seven states, according to court documents.

State agent Ronald Pate of the Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigation and Drug Control office in Butler Township charged Faraj and Amad with participating in a corrupt organization, conspiracy and retail theft, all felonies.

Pate, in charging documents, detailed how the ring members worked the seemingly simple but successful operation.

He said one person would enter a Wal-Mart and push a shopping cart to the automotive department. The same ring member would then pick out a four-piece car mat set and put it in the cart.

“The person will then go to the motor oil section and select approximately 18 to 30 one quart bottles of Mobil motor oil,” Pate said. “That member will then go directly to checkout and pay for those items.”

That first member would leave the store with the merchandise and hand the second member the store receipt for the items.

The second ring member, just like the first one, would enter the store, get a shopping cart, head to the automotive department and place a floor mat set in the cart.

But instead of one-quart bottles, the second person would select 18 to 30 five-quart bottles of motor oil.

That same person would go to the cigarette checkout and buy a pack of cigarettes. In hand, the second member would hold the receipt he received from the first member.

“The second member then walks out of the store with 18-30 five-quart bottles of motor oil and a set of floor mats that were not paid for,” Pate said.

Later that same day or the next day, authorities said, one of the members would show up at a different Wal-Mart and return the one-quart bottles of oil and floor mats for a refund.

The plan worked so well, investigators said, that Faraj and Amad allegedly used it at 28 stores between Feb. 12 and Feb. 22.

The pair, crossing the state west to east, never hit the same store twice. The value of each theft ranged from $380 to $661.

The first stores they targeted were in Fayette and Washington counties, and the ninth store was in Cranberry Township. The last stores they struck at were in Berks and Lancaster counties.

The total take from the thefts was $14,806.

A Wal-Mart store security employee in Mercer County apparently became aware of what was going on and notified the AG’s office last July.

Eventually, investigators linked Faraj and Amad to the crime ring that is suspected of making off with large thefts of oil and floor mats in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Kentucky.

Additionally, the pair was later identified from surveillance video as the serial thieves in Pennsylvania.

Documents, meanwhile, identified Fayez J. Amad and David Moses Chahine as two additional ring members.

How many participants made up the ring was not known Wednesday. Documents note that some of the members were arrested in January 2010 in Indiana.

Faraj and Shaun Amad were arrested on March 12, 2010, in Florence City, Ky., shortly after allegedly being caught stealing $600 worth of motor oil in quart bottles and gallon jugs at a Wal-Mart there.

The Boone County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office later indicted the men on felony theft charges.

Shaun Amad’s case was resolved after he ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to probation, Florence Police Capt. Linny Cloyd told the Butler Eagle.

Faraj also pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property and also bail jumping, and was sentenced to two years in jail. He was later paroled on March 21st of this year.

A call to the Indiana Attorney General’s Office was not returned Wednesday.