Pawn shop owner pleads guilty in booster sale scheme msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Between 2015 and 2019, the owner and employees at Rochester Pawn & Gold sold more than $12 million in stolen items purchased from shoplifters, many of whom were addicted to opioids, federal officials claimed.
The individuals were recruited to steal the items, officials said, adding that this type of fraud helped fuel the local opioid epidemic. In 2018 and 2019, 13 people who sold items to the pawn shop overdosed within five days. Three of the overdoses were fatal.
Eric Finnefrock, 29, of Rochester, one of three men accused in the scheme, pleaded guilty on April 28 to one count of conspiracy to transport stolen goods in interstate commerce. Charges against store owner Thomas Nary and employee Ralph Swain are still pending.
ROCHESTER, NY Wade Shadders, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa to conspiracy to transport stolen goods in interstate commerce. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan K. McGuire, who is handling the case, stated that between October 2018 and November 2019, the defendant was an employee at Royal Crown Pawn & Jewelry on Dewey Avenue in Rochester, which is owned by co-defendant Devin Tribunella. As part of the conspiracy, Tribunella and Shadders engaged persons they knew were shoplifting (commonly referred to as boosters ). They routinely advised the boosters what goods to steal from retail stores located in the Rochester area, including Home Depot, Lowes, Target, Walmart, and Wegmans. Once the items were stolen, the boosters would sell the stolen, new in-box items to Tribunella and Shadders at the Royal Crown pawn shop, for a fraction of retail value. Tribunella a
Dec 16, 2020
A Rochester man has pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to transport stolen goods.
Prosecutors say 23-year-old Wade Shadders was involved with Devin Tribunella in a plan to have drug addicts shoplift goods from area stores, then turn them in for money at the Royal Crown Pawn and Jewelry shop on Dewey Avenue in Rochester.
Tribunella and Shadders then sold the merchandise at a profit on Ebay. They shipped more than $1.5 million dollars worth of goods to buyers outside of New York State until they were caught last year.
Shadders will be sentenced on March 22nd, 2021.