Fraudsters wheel away huge haul of artisan cheddar worth an eye-popping $400,000

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‘Distraction theft’ caught on grocery store surveillance footage in Utah

Two criminals are seen stealing from an elderly shopper at a grocery store in St. George, Utah. While one woman distracts the woman, her male partner is seen repeatedly reaching into their victim’s cart. (Credit: St. George Police Department)

Cheese bandits wheeled away an eye-popping amount of cheddar cheese from one of the UK’s most famous cheese stores.

Neal’s Yard Dairy announced in a social media post that thieves, “posing as a legitimate wholesale distributor for a major French retailer,” ordered over 950 wheels of the clothbound Hafod, Westcombe and Pitchfork cheddar.

The cheese was worth about $390,000, the company revealed.

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Mill likes to visit the various grocery stores when traveling internationally, but also loves the local stops like butcher shops and markets. (Shannon Mill)

Neal’s Yard Dairy reportedly delivered 22 metric tons (48,488 pounds) of cheddar before realizing the wholesale distributor was a fake. 

The dairy retailer said that they covered the cost from the theft that impacted the smaller cheesemakers.

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“Despite the significant financial blow, we have honoured our commitment to our small-scale suppliers and paid all three artisan cheesemakers in full,” they said.

La fromagerie dIsa, organic cheese from the farm Ferme du Wint in Brunembert (northern France). Brand Valeurs Parc naturel regional (Regional Nature Park)  (Flament/Andia/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

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The dairy retailer said they are working with law enforcement and asked residents to be on the lookout for “clothbound Cheddars in a [22-pound] or [52-pound] format with the tags detached”

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. 

Story tips and ideas can be sent to sarah.rumpf@fox.com and on X: @s_rumpfwhitten.