Court-house.png

Grocery store swindler racks up 29th theft conviction

A 60-year-old Scarborough man has been sentenced to jail after pleading guilty to multiple counts of theft stemming from a string of shoplifting incidents across Gravenhurst.

György Lakatos appeared in court where it was revealed that on Sept. 8, 2025, Bracebridge OPP were called to a shoplifting complaint at Shoppers Drug Mart. Store surveillance footage showed Lakatos loading $2,521 worth of baby formula into a wheeled black bag. Later that same day, police received another call from Sobeys, where Lakatos had stolen approximately $1,200 worth of baby formula. At the time, he was already on probation.

Court heard that on Sept. 16, 2025, OPP responded to another theft at Your Independent Grocer. Lakatos was identified through CCTV footage stealing $2,013 worth of baby formula.

On Oct. 7, 2025, police were again called to Sobeys for a theft in progress. Lakatos was caught stealing $2,000 worth of beauty products. Further investigation revealed that earlier that same day, he had also stolen $1,646 worth of baby formula from Shoppers Drug Mart, as confirmed through video evidence reviewed by police.

The Crown noted that Lakatos has more than 20 prior convictions for theft under $5,000, arguing that the stolen baby formula was not taken out of personal necessity but for profit.

“You have been wreaking havoc across the province for the past five years,” the presiding justice remarked while reviewing Lakatos’ criminal record.

Lakatos was sentenced to six months in jail, followed by three years of probation. He was also ordered to pay restitution for the stolen goods.

Don’t miss out on Doppler!

Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox so you don’t miss anything!

Click here to support local news

Join the discussion:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

All comments are moderated. Please ensure you include both your first and last name and abide by our community guidelines. Submissions that do not include the commenter's full name or that do not abide by our community guidelines will not be published.

2 Comments

  1. HAROLYN HUSSAIN says:

    Right on Bill !!!

  2. Bill Beatty says:

    Another laughable sentence for a lifetime serial Felon! No deterrence whatsoever.