Five people were arraigned in federal court Thursday afternoon in connection to two different alleged multimillion dollar pawn shop schemes.
Both owners and three employees of Rochester Pawn and Gold and Royal Crown Pawn and Jewelry are accused of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, selling and conspiring to sell stolen goods across state lines, and money laundering.
The suspects are Thomas Nary, 35, Eric Finnefrock, 27, Devin Tribunella, 35, and Wade Shadders, 22, all from Rochester, and Ralph Swain, 30 of Farmington.
Combined, they’re accused of defrauding nearly $16 million.
Officials say the scheme involved stealing merchandise from local retailers, and selling them to the pawn shops.
Prosecutors allege the defendants knowingly bought the stolen products at a fraction of the cost, and then made false representations online to re-sell the stolen goods on eBay and Amazon.
Prosecutors also allege the defendants took advantage of those struggling with opioid addiction by recruiting them to steal items with a high online re-sale value for a portion of the sales, which they could use for drugs.
Many of the defendants arraigned are due back in court early next year.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.