Three Monroe County residents pleaded guilty on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Rochester for their roles in a retail theft ring involving hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stolen merchandise.
40-year-old Amanda Reeves, and 20-year-old Chad Lewis, Junior, of Greece, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud before Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford. The charge carries maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. In addition, co-defendant 34-year-old James Civiletti, also of Greece, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport stolen goods in interstate commerce, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle P. Rossi, who is handling the case, stated that between December 2021, and October 17, 2024, Reeves and Lewis conspired with co-defendant Shabon Banks, and others to engage in an ongoing retail theft conspiracy involving the New York Gold Diamond Pawn Shop. The pawn shop is owned and operated by another co-defendant Dominic Sprague, and managed by Civiletti.
Reeves, Lewis, and their co-conspirators stole new-in-box items from store shelves on a weekly, and sometimes daily, basis. They then sold the stolen goods to the pawn shop for a fraction of the actual retail value. The pawn shop, including Civiletti, then resold the stolen merchandise on eBay at much higher prices, resulting in significant profits. The pawn shop purchased 37,936 stolen new-in-box items from Reeves and the others on more than 670 occasions, for which Reeves and the others were paid $290,000.00. The actual losses to the victim-retailers were approximately $1,160,000.00.
The pleas are the culmination of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan, the Internal Revenue Service, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Thomas Fattorusso, the Greece Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Wood, and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Todd Baxter.
Sentencing for Reeves and Civiletti will be scheduled at a later date. Defendant Lewis is scheduled to be sentenced on June 5, 2025, before Judge Wolford.
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