News and Press Releases
St. Paul man sentenced for
conspiring to transport stolen goods
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2012
MINNEAPOLIS – Earlier today in federal court, a 43-year-old St. Paul man was sentenced
for participating in a stolen-goods racket. United States District Court Chief Judge Michael J.
Davis sentenced Christopher Allen Janota to six months in prison and six months of home
confinement on one count of conspiracy to transport stolen property. Janota was also ordered to
pay more than $750,000 in restitution representing the value of the stolen property. He was
charged on December 23, 2010, and pleaded guilty on January 27, 2011.
In his plea agreement, Janota admitted that from January 1 through September 25, 2007, he
conspired with others to resell stolen merchandise. Janota’s co-conspirators stole products from
retail businesses in Minnesota and other states and then sold the stolen goods to Janota’s
Woodbury-based company. Janota sold the merchandise to third parties through the Internet and
shipped them via the U.S. mail. The nine co-conspirators already have pleaded guilty to related
charges.
This case was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the
Woodbury Police Department, with assistance from the Loss Prevention Departments at Target
and Wal-Mart. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert M. Lewis.
