The pawnshops are in Salt Lake and Utah counties and operate under the names Xtreme Pawn, Sportsmans Pawn or Sportsmans Fast Cash. Nate Mutter, the assistant chief of investigations at the Attorney General’s Office, said investigators received complaints the shops were fencing stolen, new merchandise.
The seven search warrants, Mutter said, sought evidence of receiving or selling stolen property and related crimes, including money laundering. No one has been arrested.
“The investigation is open,” Mutter said. “Doing the search warrants was just one step in that investigation. It was just a monumental step, as it seemed. There was a lot of evidence seized.