Two Philadelphia men have been charged in a scheme that involved buying and selling millions of dollars of stolen goods through several of their pawn shops.
Larry Leonard, 60, and Nathaniel “Nat” Leonard, 68, cousins from Philadelphia, were charged on Friday with conspiracy to transport and sell stolen goods in interstate commerce and interstate transportation of stolen property, United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced in a press release.
The cousins ran three pawn shops, including Society Hill Loan and K&A Money Loan Pawnbrokers, both in Philadelphia, and Lou’s Jewelry and Pawnshop in Wilmington, Delaware, according to the release.
Authorities say Larry Leonard controlled the day-to-day operations of K&A and Lou’s Jewelry. His cousin Nat, meanwhile, was the one who controlled the day-to-day operations of Society Hill Loan, officials said.
The men are accused of using their pawn shops to buy and sell large quantities of new, stolen, in-box merchandise supplied by two main groups of people.
The first group, known colloquially as “boosters,” collectively stole millions of dollars of new retail merchandise from retailers in Philadelphia and Delaware, including from Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, CVS, Rite Aid, Safeway, and others, according to officials.
This “boosters” group then sold to the Leonards’ pawn shops for cash.
A separate group, known as the “mooks” collectively stole millions of dollars of new retail merchandise from across the country, which the group then resold in bulk quantities to the Leonards and other pawn shop employees for cash on a regular basis.
The cousins were also accused of transferring the stolen goods from Lou’s Jewelry and K&A to Society Hill Loan, where they then listed the stolen merchandise for sale on an eBay site specifically for that pawn shop.
Officials allege that from November 2019 through December 2023, the Leonards sold more than $19 million in stolen merchandise via their eBay site.
Larry Leonard is also charged with three counts of money laundering for using the proceeds of the illegal sale of stolen merchandise to pay off more than $120,000 in credit card bills from December 2022 through April 2023, according to the release.
If convicted, Larry Leonard faces a maximum possible sentence of 45 years in prison. Nathaniel Leonard faces a maximum possible sentence of 15 years in prison.
