One day in the summer of 2021, the phone rang at Modern Pawn Brokers, a pawn shop in Midtown Manhattan. The caller asked for owner Boris Aronov, but was told Aronov was unavailable. The caller rang twice more, and the third time uttered a warning.

“My name is Vinko Tomic,” the voice said. “And you’re going to lose your job if you don’t tell him to call me.”