Gold Store Owner Charged with Selling Stolen Property Appears in Federal Court

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The owner of a gold store in Hickory, N.C., appeared in federal court today to face charges for allegedly selling stolen property, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. A grand jury in Charlotte returned a criminal indictment last week, charging Marty Christopher McDaniel, 65, of Hickory, and Kenny Price, 44, of Conover, N.C., with conspiracy to transport stolen property.

According to allegations in the indictment, from 2020 to 2024, McDaniel and Price conspired with each other and others to sell and transport stolen retail products through The Gold King, a business owned by McDaniel. The indictment alleges that the defendants purchased retail products from boosters, knowing that the products were stolen. A "booster" is a person who steals goods and merchandise from retail stores and sells them to a "fence." McDaniel and Price operated as fences, paying the boosters a fraction of the retail value for the stolen goods.

The indictment further alleges that the defendants resold the stolen items through McDaniel's various e-commerce stores on eBay, Mercari, and Whatnot. Many of the retail products sold on the e-commerce storefronts included products stolen by the boosters from national retail stores, such as The Home Depot, Lowe's, Target, Best Buy, and others. The defendants sold the stolen items at a discounted price to customers throughout the United States and several foreign countries, earning more than $580,000 from the sales.

McDaniel's had his initial appearance today in federal court. McDaniel and Price are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property which, if convicted, carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The charges against the defendants are allegations, and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

In making today's announcement, U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson credited the FBI and the Catawba County Sheriff's Office for the investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.