Sebastian business owners accused of improper transactions in gold purchases

SEBASTIAN — A husband and wife who run a gold-buying business were charged last week with several misdemeanors after an investigator determined they weren't properly documenting the identities of people from whom they accepted goods, according to the Indian River County Sheriff's Office .

The owners of Sebastian Antiques, Mark Karpinski, 61, and Elizabeth Karpinski, 57, were charged Dec. 20 with four counts each of failing to obtaining required information for a transaction form and one count each of failing to get identification from a seller. The Karpinskis, who live in the 13400 block of 80th Avenue, Sebastian, posted $2,500 bail each at the Indian River County Jail.

The Sheriff's Office asked someone to sell about $500 worth of gold jewelry to the Karpinskis on Dec. 12 without identification. That person wore recording equipment when he went to the store in the 900 block of U.S. 1, Sebastian.

The Karpinskis took the man's photo and fingerprint, but should not have agreed to the sale because the man didn't have identification, the Sheriff's Office said. A detective reviewed the transaction form and noticed some details missing, including the date and accurate descriptions of the seller and items he sold, he said.

The Sheriff's Office did the investigation to make sure pawn shops are properly documenting transactions to deter thieves from taking stolen goods there, officials said.