⏱ 2 min read
A 59-year-old Bellevue man, Andrey Balun, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for operating a multi-million dollar fencing operation that encouraged retail theft in the area. Balun, who also resides in Las Vegas, pleaded guilty in December 2025 to conspiracy to transport stolen property in interstate commerce. The operation, which was run out of a storefront in Burien, Washington, knowingly purchased stolen goods from area retailers and sold them on Amazon and eBay for millions of dollars in profit.
The investigation, led by law enforcement, revealed that Balun and his co-defendant, Vitaliy Bobak, 53, of Federal Way, Washington, jointly owned MBA Trading LLC, which did business as ‘We Buy Gold, Silver, and Electronics.’ The pair trained each other on how to operate the business, with Balun admitting that they purchased stolen goods from individual sellers, knowing that the goods were stolen.
At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Tana Lin told Balun that the prison sentence would have been longer but for his health conditions. Judge Lin stated, ‘You were the driving force behind this operation, and you continued for years even after you were told what you were doing was illegal.’ The operation’s impact on the community was significant, with organized retail theft resulting in violence against employees, store closures, job losses, and increased prices for consumers.
The case highlights the severity of organized retail theft, with Washington estimating that it lost $600 million due to such crimes in 2021 alone. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd noted that acting as a ‘fence’ for stolen goods helps organized retail theft flourish, harming the community in multiple ways.
📋 Key Facts
- Crime: Organized Crime
- Defendant: Washington
- Location: WA
- Source: DOJ Press Release
