JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A Portage, Pennsylvania woman has confessed to her role in a brazen money laundering operation disguised as a retail business. Tonia Vaughn, 41, pleaded guilty in federal court today to conspiring to commit money laundering, admitting to knowingly facilitating the sale of stolen goods.
The scheme revolved around Gary’s Steals and Deals, a store owned and operated by Vaughn and her husband, Gary Vaughn, in Portage. According to Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song, the store wasn’t dealing in legitimate bargains. Instead, it served as a fence for thieves looking to offload hot merchandise. “Customers” – repeat offenders, authorities say – would bring in newly stolen items, often still in their original packaging, pilfered from local stores.
Store clerks at Gary’s Steals and Deals, fully aware the goods were stolen, would purchase the items for a fraction of their retail value. These weren’t isolated incidents. The same individuals consistently brought in large quantities of identical stolen products – razor blades, pet supplies, teeth whitening strips, ink cartridges, jackets, even Lego sets – day after day. This constant influx of stolen goods formed the backbone of the laundering operation.
The stolen merchandise wasn’t kept on the shelves for long. Vaughn and her team would then list the stolen items for sale on online marketplaces like eBay and Amazon. Once sold, the goods were shipped via the U.S. mail, effectively completing the laundering process. The profits from these online sales were then funneled back into the operation, either used to purchase more stolen goods from the “customers” or distributed as proceeds among the store’s employees.
United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson has scheduled sentencing for Tonia Vaughn on August 9, 2017, at 1:00 p.m. She faces a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $500,000 fine, or both. The actual sentence will be determined based on the severity of the crime and Vaughn’s criminal history.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Haines is leading the prosecution. The investigation was a joint effort by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Laurel Highlands Resident Agency. This case underscores the lengths criminals will go to disguise illicit profits and the persistent efforts of federal agencies to dismantle these operations.
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Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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