An Upstate New York pawn shop owner will spend five years in federal prison for his role in a retail theft ring that netted more than $1.1 million worth of stolen merchandise over nearly three years.
Dominic Sprague, 42, was sentenced to 60 months in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to transport stolen goods in interstate commerce, U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced Thursday.
Between December 2021 and October 2024, Sprague operated a scheme through his business, New York Gold Diamond Pawn Shop in Greece, N.Y., that involved buying stolen goods from three thieves and reselling them online for substantial profits, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle P. Rossi, who handled the case.
Amanda Reeves, Shabon Banks and Chad Lewis Jr. stole new-in-box items from store shelves on a weekly and sometimes daily basis, working both individually and together. They then sold the stolen merchandise to Sprague’s pawn shop, which was managed by James Civiletti, for roughly one-quarter of the items’ retail value.
The pawn shop resold the stolen goods on eBay at significantly higher prices.
Over the course of the conspiracy, the business purchased 37,936 stolen new-in-box items across more than 670 transactions, paying the thieves $290,000. The stolen merchandise had an actual retail value of approximately $1,160,000, resulting in substantial losses to the victim retailers.
Banks, Reeves, Lewis and Civiletti were previously convicted in connection with the scheme.