Twin Cities man who fenced stolen goods sentenced to prison, $750,000 fine

A man who admitted to selling stolen property out of his Woodbury business was sentenced today in federal court to six months in prison and a $750,000 fine.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Michael Davis issued the sentence for Christopher Allen Janota, of St. Paul. The 43-year-old pleaded guilty on Jan. 27 to one count of conspiracy to transport stolen property, according to a Department of Justice news release.

The release states Janota admitted that from Jan. 1, 2007, to Sept. 25, 2007, he and others conspired to sell stolen merchandise. Co-conspirators stole merchandise from retail businesses and other states, then fenced the goods through Janota’s Woodbury-based business, the release states.

The business, Media Xchange123, was located at Valley Creek Mall.

The $750,000 restitution fine represents the value of the merchandise, the release states.

According to the release Janota then sold the goods through the Internet and shipped them through the mail. He was charged in December 2010. Nine other co-conspirators had already entered guilty pleas, according to the release.

Investigators from the Woodbury Police Department and the U.S. Postal Service worked the case in conjunction with Target and Wal-Mart.

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