CHARLESTON, W.Va (WSAZ) -- Just this week, students in Huntington searched pawn shops for their stuff after a series of break-ins and burglaries, and here in Charleston, a man will be sentenced for using his pawn shop to buy stolen items and sell them on eBay.

Call it a clear case of invasion of privacy. Burglars breaking into students homes, in search of a quick score.

Instead of becoming statistics, some victims of crime are pounding the pavement themselves, even hitting up the pawn shops, to try and track it all down. History's proven, if their search here isn't successfull, they might try on the Internet.

Earlier this year, Toney Corey admitting that his Trading Post pawn shop,was a front for an illegal fence. Police say he bought stolen property for cheap prices from thieves, and then turned a huge profit by selling it on eBay. The scam came to a sudden stop in the summer of 2006, when police and federal agents raided the trading post and carried out evidence, box by box.

It wasn't until just this week: that the details were released and printed out. The affidavit tells a tale of years of dealing with drug users and known thieves to score the stolen goods.

The thieves involved in Corey's scheme were stealing brand new merchandise from local stores, items on the hot list included ipods, power tools and diet pills. It all added up to at least $350,000 in profits until it came to a screeching halt, and the whole operation was shut down.

Proof that when it comes to the cycle of stealing, someone pays. Wether it's the student victim robbed at home, the suspect sent to prison, or the unsuspecting buyer on eBay, who has no idea that their cheap find, is at someone else's expense.