By WMBD TV

BLOOMINGTON – A Bloomington family is being accused by the state’s top prosecutor of running an organized retail crime enterprise through multiple Monster Pawn locations.

Attorney General Kwame Raoul has filed charges against Monster Pawn’s owners, Edwin Pierce, 65; Kathleen Pierce, 58; and their son, Everson Pierce, 28, and four others.

All three Pierces face multiple misdemeanor theft charges. But in addition, Edwin and Everson Pierce both face one count of being the organizer of a continuing financial crimes enterprise, a felony that carries a maximum of 30 years in prison.

They both face other felony counts that are lesser charges.

The investigation occurred with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations; the Illinois Department of Revenue Criminal Investigations Division; and the Bloomington, Chatham and Springfield police departments. The charges allege that from November 2023 to July 2024, the defendants ran an organized retail crime operation at the following locations:

• Monster Pawn Springfield North LLC: 200 block of E. North Grand Ave. in Springfield.
• Monster Pawn Springfield Inc.: 2300 block of S. MacArthur Blvd. in Springfield.
• Midwest Exchange Inc.: 1400 block of E. Empire St. in Bloomington.
• Monster Pawn, Inc.: 1600 block of R.T. Dunn Dr. in Bloomington.
• Monster Pawn Normal Inc.: 1400 block of S. Main St. in Normal.

The charges allege the Pierce family, with Monster Pawn shop managers and employees worked together to purchase new merchandise, such as televisions, tools, and video game equipment, still in its original packaging. Yet they were “represented as being the proceeds of retail theft, which the defendants would purchase well below market value.”

The Pierce family and their employees then allegedly sold those items online below market value, the charges allege.

“Organized retail crime takes many forms and is not limited to any one type of business or region of Illinois. Illinois residents should be able to trust businesses in their communities to operate in accordance with the law and that the goods and services customers purchase from businesses were procured legally,” Raoul said.

“These charges demonstrate the importance of the collaborative work that my office’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force is doing, and I appreciate the partnership of the local, state and federal law enforcement agencies throughout this complex multijurisdictional investigation,” he added.

Here’s a full list of the charges:

The Attorney General’s office charged Kathleen Pierce with three misdemeanor counts of theft under $500. Raoul’s office charged Edwin Pierce with three misdemeanor counts of theft under $500, as well as:

• One count of being the organizer of a continuing financial crimes enterprise, a Class X felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
• One count of continuing financial crimes enterprise, a Class 1 felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
• One count of being the manager of organized retail crime, a Class 2 felony, punishable by up to seven years in prison.
• Eight counts of theft between $500 and $10,000.
• One count of solicitation of theft, and two counts of money laundering, all Class 3 felonies, each punishable by up to five years in prison.

Raoul’s office charged Everson Pierce with seven misdemeanor counts of theft under $500, as well as:

• One count of being the organizer of a continuing financial crimes enterprise, a Class X felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
• One count of being the manager of organized retail crime, a Class 2 felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.
• Four counts of theft between $500 and $10,000 and two counts of money laundering, all Class 3 felonies, each punishable by up to five years in prison.

The Attorney General’s office charged Thomas O’Donnell, 57, of Normal, Illinois, with the following:

• Two counts of theft between $500 and $10,000 and two counts of money laundering, all Class 3 felonies, each punishable by up to five years in prison.
• Eight misdemeanor counts of theft under $500.

Raoul’s office charged Steven Mileham, 71, of Springfield, Illinois, with the following:

• One count of solicitation of theft and one count of theft between $500 and $10,000, both Class 3 felonies, each punishable by up to five years in prison.
• One count of being the manager of organized retail crime, a Class 2 felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.

Attorney General Raoul’s office charged Jessica Cloyd, 34, of Mechanicsburg, Illinois, with the following:

• One count of theft between $500 and $10,000, a Class 3 felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
• Three misdemeanor counts of theft under $500.

The Attorney General’s office charged Carter Walker, 25, of Chatham, Illinois, with the following:

• One count of theft between $500 and $10,000, a Class 3 felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
• One misdemeanor count of theft under $500.