Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

Why would a customer pawn an item which he/she does not own? That is the quickest way to get oneself into real legal trouble. Acting so as to deprive the lessor of property is a crime in most states. Its called theft or larceny or some variation thereof.

Since the item is leased, what does the lease provide at termination? Does the customer own the item? Or is it a true lease and the item belongs to the lessor?

Either the customer needs to pay the lessor for the balance remaining on the lease (if the customer owns the item at lease end) or the customer needs to get the item back from the pawn shop immediately.

And the customer should not try to place the blame on the pawn shop. The only culpable party is really the customer for pawning an item that never was owned in the first place. If the item is not paid for or returned, then the lessor will go after the customer as well as the pawn shop.

By not checking, the pawn shop may also have facilitated the customer's criminal actions. If this was done negligently, there may not be a crime and only civil liability, but I am not a criminal lawyer. In the event that either the customer or the pawn shop is charged with a crime, immediately consult a criminal lawyer.

The pawn shop, if they know the item is leased, should make arrangements to return the item to the lessor and then it will have to go after the customer to get a return of the pawn proceeds.