A Gates, New York woman has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for her involvement in a retail theft ring that targeted several major retailers and resulted in losses exceeding $1 million. Shabon Banks, 42, was sentenced to 63 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford after being convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She was also ordered to pay $92,903.34 in restitution to companies including Best Buy, Home Depot, Kohls, Lowes, Macy’s, Target, and Walmart.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle P. Rossi, Banks worked with Amanda Reeves and Chad Lewis between December 2021 and October 17, 2024, as part of an ongoing scheme involving the New York Gold Diamond Pawn Shop. The pawn shop was owned by Dominic Sprague and managed by James Civiletti.
The group stole new-in-box merchandise from store shelves regularly and sold the items to the pawn shop at prices well below retail value. The pawn shop then resold the goods on eBay for higher profits. “The pawn shop purchased 37,936 stolen new-in-box items from Lewis, Jr., Banks, and Reeves on more than 670 occasions, for which the larcenists were paid $290,000.00,” Rossi stated. “The actual losses to the victim-retailers were approximately $1,160,000.00.”
Banks also used another person’s identification during transactions at the pawn shop and led police on high-speed chases in both 2022 and 2024 while fleeing law enforcement officers investigating the theft ring.
Reeves, Banks, Sprague, and Civiletti have all been previously convicted for their roles in the scheme.
The case resulted from an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations; the Internal Revenue Service; Greece Police Department; and Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
