FBI: Man in charge of Amazon theft ring arrested on child pornography charge

In this Wednesday, July 31, 2019, photo a pawn shop alleged to have been a front for a theft ring stands closed in Renton, Wash. The FBI says the ring sold millions of dollars' worth of stolen goods on Amazon.com in the past six years, and that a pair of Amazon delivery drivers was involved. No charges have yet been filed. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) less In this Wednesday, July 31, 2019, photo a pawn shop alleged to have been a front for a theft ring stands closed in Renton, Wash. The FBI says the ring sold millions of dollars' worth of stolen goods on ... more Photo: Elaine Thompson, Associated Press Photo: Elaine Thompson, Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close FBI: Man in charge of Amazon theft ring arrested on child pornography charge 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

An Auburn man suspected of leading a massive theft ring on Amazon was arrested Monday in an unrelated case of child pornography possession.

A complaint filed Friday by the FBI and unsealed Monday charged Aleksandr Pavlovskiy, 44, with one count of possession of child pornography. Images of exploited children were allegedly found on Pavlovskiy's phone during an unrelated search; FBI agents had been searching the phone for evidence of selling stolen goods on Amazon, court documents said. Agents filed a second search warrant after the images were found.

However, while Special Agent Ariana Kroshinsky was conducting the initial search on Pavlovskiy's phone, the Seattle FBI Field Office was conducting an unrelated investigation led by Special Agent Ingrid Arbuthnot-Stohl into child pornography, documents said. The investigation led the FBI to an IP address located in a Kent warehouse with the contact name, "Alex Pavlovskiy."

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The investigation unit used an FBI computer to create a connection with the Kent warehouse computer and download images of exploited children from it.

Between Pavlovskiy's phone, and the computer at the warehouse believed to be used solely by him, thousands of photos and videos of sexually exploited children were found, documents said.

Kroshinsky wrote in the complaint that she and a FBI victim specialist believed one of the photos was of Pavlovskiy's young relative, something the investigation was still looking into.

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Pavlovskiy's attorney declined to comment on the case.

The initial investigation into Pavlovskiy's alleged "pawn shop scheme" accused him and others of selling $10 million worth of stolen goods on Amazon since 2013, court documents said. They allegedly would use two pawn shops as fronts, buying goods from shoplifters and then shipping them to Amazon warehouses and eventually sold.

No further court dates have been released yet.