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SANDY - The Utah Division of Consumer Protection cited a Sandy pawn shop for selling stolen merchandise.
The citation asserts that people at the Big Dog Pawn violated the Utah Pawn and Secondhand Merchandise Transaction Act by selling a $2,500 bicycle.
Under the act, pawn shops must take a thumbprint of the seller and hold that item 30 days before selling it. Big Dog failed to do either. The shop also knew at the time of the sale that the item was stolen property on a police hold.
"Pawn shops all over our state provide many sources for legal business transactions. However, if a business does not follow the state pawn shop rules, they can expect action by our Division of Consumer Protection," said Francine A. Giani, executive director of the Utah Department of Commerce.
Big Dog Pawn will now have to pay a $500 fine. But Traci Gunderson, director of the Division of Consumer protection, said Big Dog didn't take it seriously.
"I think that they look at this as sort of like a speeding ticket," she said.
Regardless, Gunderson said her office now has, "A legal record against them. So it's going to come up to anyone who wants to check and see whether or not this company is legitimate."
Multiple violations like this one can shut a pawn broker down.
Meanwhile, Mike Katsanevas, with the Secondhand Merchandise Dealers Advisory Board, says Big Dog's actions shouldn't detract shoppers from looking at pawn shops to find deals.
"There's a lot of great reputable pawn shops out there; 99.9 percent are reputable dealers. They abide by the law," Katsanevas said.
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Story compiled with contributions from Amanda Butterfield and Cleon Wall.
