The Society Hill Loan pawn shop on the corner of Seventh and South Streets. Read more Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer

by Chris Palmer Published Aug. 20, 2025, 11:34 a.m. ET

The longtime operator of a South Street pawn shop pleaded guilty Wednesday to helping oversee a scheme in which he sold huge quantities of items that he knew had been stolen from retailers including Walmart, Home Depot, and CVS — an operation that federal prosecutors say netted his business tens of millions of dollars.

Nat Leonard was the boss of Society Hill Loan, a store with a bold yellow sign at the corner of Seventh and South Streets that describes itself as the city’s oldest pawn shop. The business has long been known for having a large supply of musical instruments — particularly vintage g

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