Ebay Super Fraudster Jailed For Only Four years

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RE: EBAY LOVES, PROFITS FROM, AND SUPPORTS CRIME WORLDWIDE:

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Ebay Super Fraudster Jailed For Only Four years

05 March, 2010, by ITProPortal Staff

The mastermind behind the biggest auction fraud ever carried out on eBay, has been punished with a four year prison sentence by the Snaresbrook crown court, whose Judge Jacqueline Beech, described the fraud as a 'highly sophisticated and profitable' operation.

Gary Bellchambers, who lived in Essex County, ran a fraudulent eBay-based operation which involved selling fake golf clubs and other golfing accessories, to unsuspecting customers.

Bellchambers, who pleaded guilty of all charges, was aided by his sister Sharon Williams and his former boss Roy Cottee. Keith Thomas and Chris Moughton, who were also involved in the operation, pleaded guilty along with their boss.

Meanwhile, eBay, which one of the world's most popular shopping destinations, was working tirelessly with the Havering Council and issued a statement saying that the company was glad that the criminals got what they deserved.

According to the evidence provided by the council, which had gotten wind of a scam after a customer complained of having purchased fake golf clubs, it was found that the fake clubs were manufactured in China, where they were trafficked by a network of criminals.

The council also revealed that the criminals had managed to pull in $3 million (roughly £2 million) over a period of five years.

Continues...

(No word on what ebaY did with IT's share.)

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Christbilt - Charles LaBoone ARRESTED on eBay scam 3 felony charges

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MONTGOMERY: Woman charged in theft at non-profit

Monday, March 15, 2010
4:44 PM EDT

MONTGOMERY A Brick woman is accused of stealing nearly $70,000 from a Belle Mead-based nonprofit organization where she formerly worked as a bookkeeper and office manager, according to authorities.

Lisa England, 38, was charged Monday with third-degree theft by deception after turning herself into authorities, Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne Forrest and Montgomery Township Police Director Robert Palmer announced in a statement.

She worked for a year beginning in September 2008 at Artistic Realization Technologies, which creates technology that allows physically challenged people to express artistic creativity, according to the statement.

Ms. England is accused of taking advantage of the nonprofits founder, who is blind. The victim would sign all documents and checks that Ms. England prepared, trusting her representations, according to the statement.

After her termination for unrelated issues, a new bookkeeper discovered numerous PayPal transactions from the nonprofits account into Ms. Englands account that were never authorized, according to the statement.

A review of PayPal records show that $22,689 was transferred to Ms. Englands account, and a review of the nonprofits Sovereign Bank accounts show that $46,682.44 was paid to the former employee. The victim provided a sworn statement that he did not authorize any of the transactions.

Ms. England turned herself in to detectives from the county prosecutors office Monday. She is being held in $25,000 bail at the Somerset County Jail.

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Shoplifters From 'Dr. Phil' Headed to Prison

By ERIC S. PAGE, R. STICKNEY and TONY SHIN

Updated 10:31 PM PDT, Mon, Mar 22, 2010

A San Diego County couple who bragged on national television about making $100,000 by selling shoplifted toys on eBay have been sentenced to federal prison.

The San Marcos they bragged about it their escapades on an episode of "Dr. Phil." Turns out the feds watch TV, too.

Matthew Eaton, 34, got more than two years in prison when he was sentenced Monday. His wife, 27-year-old Laura Eaton, was sentenced to a year. They earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport stolen property across state lines.

The Eatons were arrested last September, nearly a year after they appeared on the "Dr. Phil" show and claimed that they made as much as $3,500 a week by selling stolen goods. The show aired a video of their three small children accompanying them on a three-day shoplifting binge.

Prosecutors claimed they stole hundreds of boxes of Lego toys for sale online.

What Matthew Eaton called "easy money" on-air got a lot harder when the Secret Service and the San Diego Regional Fraud Task Force searched their home and seized toys, a car and other belongings.

According to the show, the couple has been stealing for at least six years.

Talk show host Phil McGraw said in the episode that the couple's children -- who were shown in a video chronicling what the couple described as three-day shoplifting trip -- were ages 4, 2 and 1 when the show aired.

Monday night, NBC 7/39 contacted Laura Eaton by phone. She didn't want to comment about the case, but she did say that her parents would take custody of the couple's three kids.

She will begin serving her sentence on May 3.

Some residents who live on the same street as the Eatons think the sentences are too light.

"What they did, and the amount of merchandise that got stolen, I think they should have gotten more time,"said neighbor Diane Coleman.

"I feel very bad for the children, I really do,"said neighbor Sylvia VanDoorn. "These are little children."

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Nationwide Ebay empire of dodgy goods ran from Rowley Regis

1:19pm Monday 22nd March 2010

A TRIO of counterfeit barons who ran a nationwide Ebay empire of dodgy goods from Rowley Regis have been brought to justice.

Sandwell Council trading standards officers launched an investigation and successfully prosecuted the three after proving they had defrauded customers out of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Jason Messenger, aged 38, of Britannia Road, Rowley Regis, was jailed for 18 months under the Trade Marks Act of selling counterfeit trainers, clothing, perfumes, handbags and sunglasses on Ebay.

Trading standards officers and police raided Messengers home and found thousands of pounds worth of fake Nike, Timberland, Adidas and Lacoste trainers, along with other counterfeit clothing, perfume, handbags and sunglasses.

Messengers nephew Kevin Gibbons, aged 27 of Ascot Close, Oldbury, was also convicted of selling counterfeit trainers and t-shirts following a separate internet investigation.

This linked Gibbons and Messenger with Simon Jones, aged 30 of Midhill Drive, Rowley Regis, who was also selling fake trainers on eBay.

Sandwell Councils trading standards manager Bob Robinson said: "Trading on the internet is now available 24/7 and fraudsters have infiltrated the market which has increased the risk to consumers.

"The government has recently announced that it intends to support the Trading Standards Service by providing additional funding to train officers to investigate internet trading.

"I am certain we shall see more of this type of case but we will be able to better protect out consumers."

Wolverhampton Crown Court, sitting at the Waterfront in Brierley Hill on Tuesday (March 16), heard the trios deception would have cost the counterfeited brands involved £391,540.

Jason Messenger pleaded guilty to nine counts of possessing goods with a false trade mark for sale and two counts of fraud. He also admitted falsely bidding on his own items to drive up the price known as "shill bidding" or "shilling" on eBay and was prosecuted under the Fraud Act.

Kevin Gibbons pleaded guilty to 10 counts of possessing goods with a false trade mark for sale, He was given a 12 month prison sentence suspended for 18 months and 200 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Simon Jones pleaded guilty to five counts of the possessing goods with a false trade mark. He was given a nine month prison sentence suspended for 18 months and 120 hours of unpaid work in the community.

All three now face Proceeds of Crime hearings.

Sandwell Council's deputy leader and cabinet member for neighbourhoods and housing, Cllr Mahboob Hussain, said: Once again Sandwell Council trading standards have done some excellent work.

"This was fraud on a major scale.

"One of our trading standards officers uncovered the fraud ring through investigations on the Ebay website.

"Thousands of Ebay buyers paid for genuine trainers, clothing and other items and what they received were counterfeit items.

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Shoplifters Hawked $20K In Stolen Goods On ebay

Barnstable police arrested a 43-year-old woman, her daughter and another teenager on Friday who were allegedly part of a shoplifting ring that sold an estimated $20,000 of stolen makeup and retail goods online.

Police said the three women targeted CVS stores in Cape Cod, swiping hundreds of dollars in cosmetics and beauty supplies at a time, then selling them through the Web site eBay and mailing them out to customers from a home in Hyannis.

Chelsea Johnson, an 18-year-old who lives at the home, and Samantha Sanford, 19, of Centerville, were arrested and charged with larceny pursuant to a single scheme over $250.

Police said the pair were videotaped taking large quantities of makeup, primarily Oil of Olay products, from several CVS stores in southeastern Massachusetts. The stolen goods were then posted for sale on eBay by user Chelschles98 and mailed around the country from a residence at 1 Brookshire Road in Hyannis.

continues with more text and a video...

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Man charged with theft, fraud over antique cars on eBay

March 26, 2010 09:12:00 PM

NEWS HERALD STAFF REPORT

SOUTHPORT After a four-month investigation by the Bay County Sheriffs Office, a Southport man has been arrested and charged with grand theft and ongoing scheme to defraud for an alleged antique car scheme on eBay.

According to a Sheriffs office press release, several people from different parts of the United States contacted the BCSO to complain that Justin A. Hightower, 25, had sold them antique cars on eBay but the cars were delivered, they werent the ones advertised. Although the vehicles were the same model, they were not in pristine condition as advertised and often did not even run, the press release stated. Hightower had listed numerous antique cars including a 1967 Camaro and a 1968 Mustang, according to the release. One victim claimed the VIN number on the vehicle he received did not match the one listed on eBay. Another victim said the title of the vehicle he received was not in Hightowers name.

Following the execution of a search warrant, three antique cars were seized at Hightowers home at 8811 A. McCann Road in Southport.

According to the Sheriffs office, Hightower used the eBay user name atyourservice09. Investigators asks anyone who thinks they have been the victim of Hightower to call the Investigator Andy Husar at the Sheriffs Office at 248-2184. According to the release, they are continuing to investigate and additional charges are expected.

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Computer hacker gets 20-year term

Faces more charges in credit card thefts

Long article...
Longer sentence . lmao!
However it does remind me of another guy, an ebay 'hacker' whom was supposedly arrested or 'captured' lmao!!!

Funny thing though about this ebay hacker... There were never any more mentions of him after the 'arrest'. No court hearing or trial reports, no extradition, no mention of his 'arrest', trial, conviction etc on the fbi or usdoj websites... No news from his alleged country of origin.
Nothing...
Oh, and then there is the issue of how he could be active on certain video site where he is known to have a channel, and has good taste in videos.

I guess he's been able to sign in from his prison cell. I wonder what else he can do from there?

roflolololololololololol

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Thursday, March 25, 2010 | Modified: Friday, March 26, 2010

Bose goes after sellers of counterfeit headphones

Boston Business Journal - by Galen Moore

Bose Corp. is suing 51 U.S. and Canadian residents including one individual who operates online under the moniker thegreektycoon alleging they sold counterfeits of the companys high-end audio headphones on eBay, Craigslist and Amazon.com.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Boston District Court, also names a Singapore company, Just Bright Ltd., which it says supplied eBay members with counterfeit headphones for resale on the online auction service.

According to the lawsuit, each defendant offered large volumes of fake headphones masquerading as the companys in-ear and QuietComfort 2 Acoustic Noise Canceling brands of headphone. The Framingham, Mass.-based audio equipment maker did not say exactly how many were offered or sold, but one defendant said the number was as small as seven. Bose reported it first discovered the forgeries in the fall of 2007 on Chinese Web sites.

Nonetheless, enough of the counterfeit headphones were sold to spawn a handful of YouTube videos explaining how to tell the difference between the real thing and the fakes. Calls to a Bose spokeswoman and to the companys attorney at the Boston firm of Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough were not immediately returned Thursday.

Privately held Bose is seeking $2 million in damages for each of the trademarks involved in the alleged sale of counterfeit headphones, and the recall and destruction of all the alleged fakes.

continues...

-- Edited by budnonymous on Saturday 10th of April 2010 09:22:46 AM

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Germantown eBay user pleads guilty to wire fraud

By Lou Grieco | Thursday, April 8, 2010, 01:42 PM

DAYTON A Germantown woman who offered to sell items she did not have on eBay pleaded guilty Thursday, April 8, to one count of wire fraud.

U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose did not set a sentencing date for Ramona Burns during the hearing.

Burns, 38, admitted to defrauding more than 50 people across the country. The victims, responding to online advertisements Burns posted offering Apple iPhones, Ganz Webkinz or Nintento Wii games, sent her more than $21,000, according to court documents.

Burns, using the online user identification of rmiller959, marketed these products for sale to victims throughout the United States and Canada in June and July 2007, according to documents.

As part of her plea agreement, Burns agreed to make full restitution to victims in the amount of $21,818.40. Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, according to Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio

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U.S. Marshals Seeking eBay Scammers

Scam Cost eBay Buyers More Than $300,000

POSTED: 3:01 pm PDT April 13,2010

UPDATED: 3:27 pm PDT April 13,2010

PORTLAND, Ore. -- U.S. Marshals are searching for a man and woman accused of scamming customers on the auction Web site eBay.

A marshals spokesman said 54-year-old Rick Hendrix and 28-year-old Sarah Deswert were originally arrested in 2006 on fraud charges that stemmed from a scam where they took photos of items in stores and then fraudulently posted those items for sale online.

Hendrix and Deswert would receive the negotiated price from the buyers and then take off with the money. Their scams cost eBay buyers more than $300,000, said marshals spokesman Cory Cunningham.While on pre-trial release in June 2006, the pair fled the area and have remained at large since then.

But as recently as September 2009, authorities received tips that Hendrix and Deswert were seen in the downtown Portland area.

Anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to call the U.S. Marshals Service at 503-326-2209.

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Businessman's phoney boots sale on eBay ends in prison

Wednesday, April 14, 2010, 10:00

AN aspiring businessman was jailed for 16 weeks after he sold more than £17,000 worth of fake Ugg boots from his bedroom on eBay.

Ruison Lu, aged 26, of Brynmill Crescent, Swansea, also sold electrical bikes along with unsafe battery chargers that could potentially explode.

Prosecutor Adrian Jeremiah told city magistrates the eBay account was registered to Lu's address. He said 188 pairs of the counterfeit boots had been sold via the international internet auction site at prices of up to £150.

"The total proceeds made were £17,364," he said.

On March 29 police, trading standards officers and a representative from the Ugg brand visited Lu's home.

A search uncovered the fake footwear, packaging and postal receipts linked to the sales of the goods.

Magistrates heard trading standards officers came across Lu's bikes by "coincidence" when visiting an industrial unit while working on a separate unrelated investigation. "While there they spotted the motorcycles," said Mr Jeremiah.

Lu attended the site, and was informed of the officers' concerns over the safety of the bikes two of which were seized for safety tests.

The court heard he had advertised the bikes on eBay as being road-ready, with no need for an MoT, insurance or test certificate. The bikes were also advertised as being legal to use without a helmet, and to anybody aged 14 up.

"This wasn't true because they were too heavy to be classed as an electronic bike and they are not to be driven by anyone under the age of 16," said Mr Jeremiah.

In total, Lu sold 32 bikes, earning £11,440.

Mr Jeremiah added that the vehicles' battery chargers were not unique to the bikes. He said they could be plugged into many "domestic appliances" and in some cases could cause an "explosion".

Lu pleaded guilty on a basis to having Ugg boots "which bore, or the packaging bore, a sign identical to, or likely to be mistaken for, a registered trademark". He also admitted failing to comply with a safety notice issued by the council, and selling the bikes which were "not safe and had no assembly instructions", and providing false information on their characteristics.

Probation officer Heather Evans, said Lu was "extremely remorseful" and had found his time remanded in prison "very distressing".

Alex Scott, defending, said that since graduating, Lu had been attempting to establish himself as a "legitimate businessman".

He said Lu had saved £4,000 during his time in the UK and had borrowed another £4,000 from his parents in China to import the bikes. The court heard he had believed the bikes to be safe as they were marked as if they met regulations.

"He did not profit from these sales," said Mr Scott.

"The proceeds went directly into his girlfriend's Paypal account."

Mr Scott said it was Lu's girlfriend who had started selling the boots and that he only took over when she returned to China last year.

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Blue Springs man sentenced in chop shop scheme

Associated Press - April 13, 2010 1:54 PM ET

KANSAS
CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Blue Springs man was sentenced to three years in
federal prison without parole for his role in a chop shop operation.

Federal prosecutors say 42-year-old Harley Harvey was sentenced Monday and ordered to pay $25,003 in restitution.

Harvey is the eighth person sentenced in the operation. The
conspirators stole several vehicles, took them apart at chop shops in
Missouri and Kansas and sold the parts or traded them for illegal drugs.

Prosecutors say that from March 13, 2004, to Aug. 26, 2007, the
conspirators stole more than 50 vehicles, construction equipment and
motorcycles valued at over $1 million.

The parts were sold to local customers and out-of-state customers on eBay.

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eBay fraudster laughs off her court charge

The News site.

By Gareth BethellCourt reporter A beautician who was caught selling thousands of pounds worth of stolen goods on eBay has been laughing about her sentence on her Facebook page.
Leah Hale said she was 'very pleased' with the three month curfew she was given at Portsmouth Crown Court in a message on the social networking site.

She also said she was 'sorry to disappoint' the people who had reported her to the police, gloating: 'Didn't work hahahahahahahahaha'.

The single-mum was arrested after £14,000 worth of Fat Face clothing went missing during a delivery from the company's headquarters in Havant.

She got hold of £8,000 worth of the goods, which was being delivered by a Fareham-based company, and sold about half of it on the auction website.

The rest was found at her home by Fareham police.

The 32-year-old also exchanged some of the clothes at the Fat Face store in Lymington.

When she was arrested she claimed she had bought all the clothes for £300 from a man called Chris.

Robert Bryan, defending, said Hale was in £3,000 to £4,000 of debt.

'It's in those circumstances that she came to be offered the clothing by this man and she set about selling it,' he said.

'It's not in fact overly sophisticated because the company easily found it being sold on eBay which linked back to her address so they tracked her down very quickly.'

Hale, of William Macleod Way, Millbrook, Southampton, admitted one charge of handling stolen goods and two of fraud.

Recorder Stuart Patterson said: 'About £8,000 worth of that consignment found its way into your hands.

'Some of it was sold by you on eBay in quite a methodical fashion. You didn't handle these goods in a professional fashion at all and no doubt they came by you quite by chance and you took advantage of the fact that they were there to make some money and perhaps also to get out of your debt.'

She was given a three month curfew and will have to wear an electronic tag and stay in between 7pm and 7am.

No order for compensation was made because of her financial situation.

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Taxidermist and wife traded in endangered species on eBay

Couple imported and sold carcasses including a lion cub, flying foxes, monkeys and a sea otter.

A couple who used eBay to illegally trade in dead endangered species were given suspended prison terms and fined today. Graham Pitchforth, a retired expert in animal care, and his wife Norah imported and sold exotic carcasses from the UK and overseas, including a lion cub, flying foxes, monkeys and a sea otter.

They were given suspended jail terms of five months each and a total of 400 hours unpaid community service by a judge who condemned their business as involving "serious crime which helps the illegal market that feeds the extinction of species". Both admitted 24 charges of illegally importing, possessing, exporting and selling on eBay and other websites for a profit of £2,329.

Leeds crown court heard that Graham Pitchforth, 61, was an amateur taxidermist who started mounting small animals as a retirement hobby. His wife, 65, suggested selling them online, and from this small and legal sideline the trade turned criminal. Inconsistencies in documents for very rare species acquired by the couple alerted wildlife agencies, and police raided their home in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, in December 2006. The court heard that incriminating emails from Pitchforth and his wife were found on a seized computer.

One from Norah Pitchforth told a Norwegian potential buyer of a stuffed snowy owl: "Hi, sorry this has only been mounted three months ago. I have no paperwork for it so it would have to be a private sale saying it's a gift from me to you."

Judge Christopher Batty said that the trade was "a deliberate flouting of the regulations for commercial gain". He told the couple: "You imported species from Indonesia and South Africa, likely to have been hunted from the wild perhaps for the unlawful trade in their carcasses."

Suggested uses for the stuffed animals advertised on eBay included table decorations and clothes. Other carcasses and animal parts listed included four sparrowhawks, eight owls, a crocodile monitor and a collection of more than 60 skulls. A confiscation hearing will take place later this year.

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eBay shill bid scammer convicted

Minibus man falls foul of consumer protection laws
By John Oates
Posted in Law, 19th April 2010 14:48 GMT

Paul Barrett, a minibus hire firm boss from Stanley, County Durham, has been convicted of bidding against items he was selling on eBay in order to drive up final prices.

Barrett, 39, was found guilty of ten offences under consumer protection laws passed in 2008 and 2009 to bring UK law up to European Union standards. He pleaded guilty and said he did not realise bidding against himself was illegal.

Each offence could earn Barrett a fine of up to £5,000. He will be sentenced later.

North Yorkshire Trading Standards began investigating after he sold a minibus which had had its mileage reduced illegally. They found he was selling goods using the name "shanconpaul" and then bidding up prices using the name "paulthebusman".

eBay welcomed the conviction and said it spends over £6m a year on countering fraud on the site

--------------------------------

Mugshot here:

Ebay seller faces £50k fine for phoney bids

-- Edited by budnonymous on Tuesday 20th of April 2010 06:41:40 AM

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Rugby league star pleads guilty to eBay ink scam

Fake printer ink and game biz shut down

By John Oates

Posted in IT Channel, 23rd April 2010 11:11 GMT

Gareth Raynor, a former Great Britain rugby league player, pleaded guilty yesterday to 14 charges of fraud and counterfeiting.

Raynor, 32, sold counterfeit ink cartridges for printers and fake game cartridges on eBay and other sites.

He imported reconditioned second-hand cartridges from China and then

re-wrapped them in packaging made to look like that of brands such as
Epson and HP. He also sold Gameboy and Nintendo DS game cartridges
repackaged to appear new.

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Woman free on identity-theft charges arrested in alleged scam

By Emily Ann Holman - Herald Times Reporter - April 24, 2010

MANITOWOC A woman released on bail for identity theft-related crimes appeared in court Friday after police arrested her for allegedly selling items on her boyfriend's eBay account and taking money from buyers without shipping their purchases.

Melissa L. Cox, 35, was arrested Thursday for fraud and felony bail jumping. Manitowoc Court Commissioner Patricia Koppa set Cox's bail Friday at $5,000.

Court records indicate Cox has been charged with three counts of identity theft for financial gain, two counts of forgery, two counts of fraudulent use of a credit card and theft of moveable property in three cases. The offense dates range from January 2008 to December 2009.

Police Detective David Vorpahl said Cox's 45-year-old boyfriend let her use his eBay account to sell four TVs. After the TVs were purchased and money was deposited into an online PayPal account, Cox's boyfriend wrote her checks for the TVs, totaling, $2,370.

He filed a complaint against Cox when he began receiving complaints from buyers wondering when they would receive the TVs. Cox told him the delay was due to a problem with a California-based wholesaler. Ebay is holding the man accountable for $3,210.

In court Friday, Manitowoc County District Attorney Mark Rohrer said restitution in Cox's other alleged crimes would be about $100,000 and asked that her release terms be cash bail instead of a signature bond.

Rohrer said Cox has used at least four people for financial gain in similar crimes. Cox previously was released on a signature bond before her other victims filed complaints against her.

"We keep letting her out, and under these circumstances, with this amount of activity, it becomes a danger to people in terms of their identity," Rohrer said in court. "As soon as she hooks up and meets somebody, we're at it again that's what happened in this instance."

Cox's bail conditions specify she have no access to a credit card, checking account or the Internet. She also must report to the Manitowoc Police Department by 4 p.m. each day.

Cox is due in court for an initial appearance May 3. Also, Cox has a settlement conference scheduled for May 6 for the other three cases against her.

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eBay scam: Cops release photo of man suspected in tractor scam

The man used a fake passport and gave a fictitious address when he picked up the money order for $2,300 for the tractor at a Publix on Dyer Boulevard in Kissimmee.

(photo at link)

Kissimmee Police today released a security photo of a man suspected of taking $2,300 for a tractor sold on eBay that was never delivered to a West Virginia buyer. The man used a fake passport and gave a fictitious address when he picked up the money order for the tractor at a Publix on Dyer Boulevard in Kissimmee, police said.

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Published Friday, April 23, 2010 12:05 AM

Man charged in theft of Bryan street sign

Eagle Staff Report

A 28-year-old man was out of jail Wednesday after being charged the day before with stealing a Bryan street sign and trying to sell it on eBay.

According to the police report, a woman notified officers Feb. 25 that she had seen the missing "High Street" sign for sale on the auction website.

Officers contacted Matthew Bohl at his home and asked him to return the sign. He initially denied having the sign but eventually gave it to an officer, according to the police report.

Because he has two prior theft convictions -- one in Brazos County and one in Austin County -- the theft charge was elevated to a state jail felony, which is punishable by up to two years behind bars.

Bohl was released from the Brazos County Jail after posting $5,000 bail.

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Preypal re-asserts it's stature as apex predator-parasite on the scammer food chain.
Bold emphasis mine.

Apr 25, 2010 7:50 am US/Eastern

Nassau D.A. Investigates L.I. Mansion Raffle

MASSAPEQUA, N.Y. (CBS)

Thousands of people bought tickets to try to win a million dollar waterfront home on Long Island, but so far there's no winner and no evidence of any refunds.

The apparent scam has gained the attention of Nassau County District Attorney's Office. Kathleen Rice wants people who lost money in the raffle to contact her office, saying there's nothing to be embarrassed about.

The house is still there, a sprawling five bedroom, four bathroom waterfront mansion on a canal in Massapequa, but the owner, who'd been selling $50 raffle tickets for the property, was no where to be found. Ticket holders said they can't get refunds or answers.

We originally interviewed John Luongo about his mansion raffle in August. "My original plan was to live here with my wife and raise a family but with the economic downturn I lost my job a couple of years ago."

He couldn't sell the house, instead, Luongo decided to raffle it, and quickly sold 10,000 tickets, but that was only about half of what he needed to cover his costs.

The auction was originally slated for December 15 then pushed to February 15. March 20 was the absolute last day that the auction should have gone off. When it didn't, ticket holders began to wonder if they would ever see their chance to win the home or get their money back?

Vic Ortiz of Massapequa and his family invested $500 in the raffles. "It's the american dream top have a home that big in a place like Long Island," he said.

After the auction was postponed three times, however, he tried to get his money back through PayPal.

"Turns out PayPal won't honor anything that's in excess of 90 days," he said.

Neighbors said they've seen raffle holders coming to the home looking for Luongo as well. Asked if they answer the door when anyone knocks, Fannie Patti said, "No, they never do."

When CBS 2HD's Kirstin Cole asked a man who says he's a tenant where we could find Luongo, he shut the door in her face.

"There are thousands of people who bought a $50 raffle ticket," Cole said.

The tenant's reply? "I'm not involved. You guys have to talk with him."

Luongo wouldn't appear on camera, but did return Cole's call. He said the raffle is called off and he's refunded 10,000 tickets already.

We know that the PayPal account used for this raffle was frozen, but PayPal has not been able verify anyone has gotten their money back, and several ticket holders said they haven't seen any money back.

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Horror-movie fraud scared up $1M: feds

By DAREH GREGORIANLast Updated:

6:28 AM, April 29, 2010

Posted:2:26 AM, April 29, 2010

Horrors!

The feds have busted a Georgia man for allegedly
scamming scary-movie aficionados out of $1 million by passing off his
fake vintage posters as the real things.

Over four years,
Kerry Haggard pawned off his reproductions of posters for greats like
"The Mummy," "Frankenstein" and "Son of Frankenstein" online as genuine
classics, authorities said. "Authentic vintage movie posters are
valuable pieces of memorabilia sometimes worth thousands of dollars.
But Haggard wasn't a legitimate purveyor of fine collectibles. He
created and peddled fakes," said FBI Special Agent-in-Charge George
Venizelos.

Haggard allegedly enlisted an unidentified New York printing
company to make high-quality ink-jet copies of horror-movie posters or
lobby cards from hard copies or digital scans of the originals.

He then skulked around online auction sites like eBay, holding himself
out as a fan and collector of Universal monster-movie posters, court
papers say.

Once he roped a collector in, he'd sell off his pieces for prices ranging from $500 to $5,000, the feds claim.

The Commerce, Ga., man didn't confine his con to just swindling money
-- he also traded some of his phony pieces for legit ones, including
swapping a bogus "Wolfman" lobby card for a genuine "Frankenstein Meets
the Wolfman" poster, authorities say.

Manhattan US Attorney
Preet Bharara called the scam "a real-life horror show" for his
victims, who are allegedly out of pocket more than $1 million dollars."

No word on what the ebay-PayPal spooks did with their cut.

budnonymous · Top Poster

What a world of sleaze! Bold emphasis mine

Cops: Owner didn't care where stuff came from

By William Kaempffer, Register Staff

NEW HAVEN George Connelly was keenly interested in obtaining new,
still-in-the-box power tools. The DeWalt brand was preferred and he
would take them with no questions asked.

Connelly, the owner of
Ace Amusement & Cigarette Co. at 42 Kimberly Ave., had that
conversation with a career thief, according to the chief states
attorneys office. The thief then had a conversation with police.

(photos and embedded warrant document at link ^ )

On Tuesday morning, after a months-long undercover investigation,
officials from the chief states attorneys office and state and local
police raided the secondhand shop and Connellys home. They arrested
Connelly, 40, and his 41-year-old brother-in-law on racketeering and
larceny charges.

Authorities said Connelly and Paul Muzyka, of
North Haven, werent just interested in power tools. Over five months,
they allegedly bought DVDs, electric razors, impact guns, drills,
grinders, cigarettes and flat-screen televisions, among other items,
with no questions asked.

Connelly Tuesday was charged with two
counts of criminal attempt to commit second-degree larceny and one
count of violating the Corrupt Organizations and Racketeering Activity
Act. Muzyka is charged with one count of criminal attempt to commit
larceny and one count of violating CORA. Both were released after
posting $50,000 bail.

Details of the investigation were laid out in arrest warrant affidavits made public Tuesday.

It
started in September 2009, when the thief told Branford police that
Connelly had placed an order with him, knowing he had a history of
burglaries and thefts. Branford police then contacted the chief states
attorneys office, which launched an investigation with help of the
State Police Statewide Organized Crime Investigative Task Force.

Over
the course of five months, the thief-turned-cooperating witness and,
later, an undercover officer, made repeated visits to Ace Amusement and
sold hot merchandise for cash. They had help. Much of the merchandise
was provided by security officials from Home Depot and Target to help
with the investigation, and the items had theft prevention devices
still attached, suggesting the items were stolen.

According to authorities, Connelly made it clear he didnt want to know where the items came from.

Just
come in, bring me something and well go from there; the less said the
better, Connelly allegedly told the undercover officer.

Its
not the first time that Ace Amusement has run afoul of the law. In June
2009, two people, including Muzyka, were arrested in a sting after an
undercover officer delivered a pallet of stolen power tools and
received $3,700 in cash.

A person who answered the door at
Connellys Tuttle Drive home Tuesday declined comment. A red Hummer was
parked in the driveway.

According to city Building Official
Andrew Rizzo, Ace Amusement is licensed by the city as a secondhand
broker and cannot operate as a pawn shop. The license Tuesday remained
valid.

If the police would call and say Revoke his license, I
would do that, but I dont have the authority to initiate that, said
Rizzo.

In any case, it appears some of the merchandise wasnt
being sold from the store, which is in a building across from Kimberly
Square in the Hill neighborhood.

After the 2009 raid,
investigators conducted a forensics analysis of a seized laptop and
found two eBay accounts were routinely accessed. An eBay fraud analyst reported both accounts were opened in 2003 and that, combined, the accounts had generated $2.6 million in sales.

Other items apparently went to acquaintances.

In January, while Target security officials had the location under
surveillance, Paul Jacobs, a former bail bondsman who spent four months
in prison for bribing public officials, showed up at Ace Amusement in a
leased Acura sport utility vehicle. He walked in with three cups of
coffee and walked out with several new in box items, including a
32-inch television similar to one sold by an undercover officer a few
hours later.

The security personnel followed him over the course
of the day and ultimately back to his Milford home, where Jacobs
unloaded the TV, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

Mark
Dupuis, a spokesman for the chief states attorneys office, declined
comment when asked about Jacobs, saying the investigation was ongoing.

Investigators
were at Ace Amusement & Cigarette Co. for much of the day Tuesday.
Authorities carried out items and filled a U-Haul truck parked in front
of the business.

In 2008, Connelly was shot inside a downtown martini bar after an attempted robbery inside the restroom.

Last month, police charged Chaz Gulley, 25, with the shooting.

------ *
Still no word on what sleazebay did with their cut of the $2.6 Million

budnonymous · Top Poster

15 minutes community service for every eBay scam by conman Andrew Green

By Andrew Penman on May 13, 2010 12:00 AM in Online scams

Conman Andrew Green has been sentenced to 250 hours community service after selling over 1,000 bogus children's items on eBay.

The fakes, mainly clothes, included Bob the Builder, Hannah Montana and High School Musical rip-offs. The 37-year-old from Enfield, north London, netted £9,000.

"This was no Mickey Mouse operation," said Sue McDaid of Enfield Council. "He was fleecing customers buying cherished brands for kids."

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5 area residents sentenced in Samsung sales rewards scheme

By CHARLES WEBSTER STAFF WRITER May 16, 2010

FREEHOLD - Five people accused of defrauding the Samsung company out of cell phone sales promotion rewards which were used to buy $260,000 worth of GPS units later sold on eBay - have been sentenced to probation and ordered to make restitution.

Leon C. Kassin, 63, his son Morris Kassin, 34, both of Ocean Township, and daughter Julie Kassin, 25, and her husband, Israel Goldstein, 27, both of East Brunswick, were each sentenced Friday to three-years probation and ordered to pay full restitution.

Michelle Harary, 33, of Long Branch, who worked alongside Morris Kassin at a Brick store that sold Samsung cell phones, was also sentenced to three-years probation and ordered to pay restitution for her role in the scheme.

Rosie Kassin, 27, of Long Branch, wife of Morris Kassin, was not in court for sentencing Friday pending a June 25 hearing for reconsideration of her denial for acceptance in the pre-trial intervention program.

Morris Kassin, Israel Goldstein and Michelle Harary each pleaded guilty to charges of third degree theft by deception. Leon Kassin and Julie Kassin each pleaded guilty to charges of third degree fencing, or trafficking in stolen property.

State Superior Court Judge Ira E. Kreizman chastised the Kassins for the scheme and characterized their actions as a blight on their Orthodox Jewish community.

"It was stupid. I'm very, very sorry and embarrassed for my community," Leon Kassin responded to Kreizman.

In March 2008, Samsung kicked off a nationwide sales promotion geared toward sales personnel working in stores that sold more than one brand of cell phone. Every time a Samsung cell phone was sold the salesperson would receive reward points valued at between $1 and $10 based on the model sold.

Samsung uncovered the scheme and alerted the Monmouth county Prosecutor's Office who determined that the Kassins, Goldstein and Harary were involved in creating fake names and cell phone serial numbers to defraud the company out of the reward points.

An investigation revealed that they converted the reward points into Amazon.com "Amazon bucks" used to buy about $260,000 worth of Garmin and TomTom Global Positioning System navigation units, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Then turned around and sold the GPS units on eBay, the online auction and shopping website, authorities have said.

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Roommate tells of missing Zephyrhills man's agonized last months

ZEPHYRHILLS - When the Davises moved in, Steve Perry was jobless, distraught and tormented by bladder cancer.

Over the next six months his condition would worsen. Though the former Thundercats screenwriter still tried to craft comic books, he began taking heavier doses of painkillers and pleading for help to pay the bills.

Then, this month, he vanished.

At least nine days have passed since Perry, 56, disappeared from the home he shared with James and Roxanne Davis. Few details have been released in the investigation of his possible murder.

But in an exclusive jail interview Monday, James Davis recounted what may be the final months of Perry's life, lived in agony and a drug-addled haze.

Zephyrhills police said Davis is a "person of interest" in Perry's possible murder. Authorities arrested him and his wife Friday on unrelated charges.

The only clues released by police are Perry's van, which was left at a Tampa hotel, and a severed body part found nearby.

Davis, 45, said he and wife Roxanne, 49, moved into Perry's place on Eighth Avenue around Christmas, offering to pay $250 a month and split the bills. Perry lived alone, though his young son sometimes visited, at a home granted to him through family of his ex-girlfriend.

"I liked him at first," Davis said. "But he was hooked on drugs, bad. That's the reason he let me in."

Davis said he and Perry shared a crippling addiction to oxycodone. Davis doctor-shopped for prescriptions to supply his daily seven-pill habit, he said, but Perry took up to 40 pills a day.

To fund his $300-a-day habit, Perry scammed shoppers on eBay by taking payments without shipping items, according to Davis. Perry also asked for "sympathy money" from friends and fans of his work, said Davis, who questioned whether Perry had cancer.

"Everything about Steve was hustling money to make sure he had the next drug," Davis said. "He was a good person when he had drugs and an a--hole when he didn't."

Davis said he last saw Perry at a flea market with a friend, researching material for a new comic book. Davis couldn't say when that was. His own drug use made "every day (feel) the same."

State records show Perry has no history of drug crime. Friends said he took painkillers during his treatment for cancer.

Steve Bissette, a close friend of Perry's since they attended Johnson State College in 1974, said Perry had a cancerous tumor removed during surgery in March 2009. Perry had filled prescriptions for oxycodone and methadone, said Krystal Carroll, his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his son, although she didn't know how much he took.

In July, after losing his job, Perry moved to Indianapolis with a friend and went "cold turkey" from the painkillers, according to Bissette.

"This was not a scam," Bissette wrote in an e-mail. Perry updated Bissette often on his weakening health and finances, and Bissette wrote a blog post about his condition and handled donations. "He was in constant threat ... due to loss of electricity, inability to provide shelter, etc; the comics community responded."

In an October e-mail, Perry told Bissette of his struggle with social services and the pain of his body breaking down.

"I wanna go home, Steve. I want to get back to - Maine. I don't want to die in Florida," he wrote.

As he was returning home May 14 - two days before the discovery of Perry's van - Davis said he saw police stationed outside. Davis, who has served three stints in prison for robbery and kidnapping, said he feared he would be arrested for failing to appear in court on a charge he drove without a license.

Davis said he called Perry to ask what had happened, only to receive a text message thanking him for keeping an eye on the house. Davis said Perry "said he was going somewhere" and didn't answer later calls.

For the next week, Davis said, he stayed with relatives in Wesley Chapel or at the Ridge Manor Motel in Dade City.

Officers found him Friday at his daughter's home and arrested him on the warrant and drug charges. Roxanne Davis turned herself into a sheriff's substation in Dade City on a probation violation later that night.

budnonymous · Top Poster

Naperville OfficeMax ex-manager admits to eBay fencing

By Art Barnum
Tribune staff reporter

A former retail manager for an OfficeMax store in Naperville who came under police scrutiny after pictures of merchandise taken in the store began appearing on eBay pleaded guilty today to theft and electronic fencing.

Michael Kullum, 30, of the 1400 block of Exposition Avenue in Aurora, who has been in the DuPage County Jail since his arrest in January, faces up to seven years in prison when sentenced this summer.

Naperville police began investigating Kullum, who was a manager at the OfficeMax at 790 Royal St. George Dr., after another employee reported him taking pictures of merchandise on the store shelves that would appear on eBay and his own email account.

DuPage County Assistant State's Atty. Helen Kapas Erdman said that an OfficeMax investigation showed Kullum had sold about $90,000 worth of computers, monitors, cameras, calculators and software, netting about a $50,000 profit for himself between August 2007 and January 2010.

Defense attorney Daniel Collins said that Kullum was experiencing personal financial difficulties and was attempting to provide restitution before his sentencing.

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Where's Wally record attempt fails

It was a valiant effort but Great Yarmouth lost out again yesterday in its bid to set a new world record for the largest number of people in one place to be dressed as cult cartoon character Wally.

There was massive disappointment after it was revealed that the town was just 123 people short of beating the current record held by New York of 1,052. A final count of registrations revealed that 930 people had dressed up as the cartoon character from the Where's Wally series of books.

But despite the overcast conditions and the failed attempt, there was still a carnival atmosphere in the Market Place as people of all ages danced to music dressed in their red and white Wally costumes.

It was the town's second attempt at making it into the Guinness Book of Records.

Last October profiteers were accused of wrecking the town's chances after it emerged that Wally costumes which had been sold in advance for £5 had turned up on internet auction site Ebay for up to £30 ahead of the earlier bid.

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Attempted murder suspect from Fresno nabbed in Arizona

By Elizabeth Warmerdam
on Thursday, May 27th, 2010 at 10:11 pm

HURON A cell phones GPS signal was the key to helping law enforcement officials arrest a suspect wanted for a gang-related shooting that happened in Huron in March.

Police had been looking for Jose Antonio Pepe Dominguez, 24, a known Norteno gang member, since the March 30 attempted murder of a rival Bulldog gang member. The shooting took place outside of a convenience store in Huron.

Dominguez, a lifelong resident of Huron and a member of Hurons violent Norteno criminal street gang, was positively identified by the victim, said Lt. Robert Herndon, interim chief of the Huron Police Department. Dominguez was the shooter, but other suspects are believed to have assisted him.

Dominguez initially fled to Visalia after the shooting, and a few days later escaped to Oregon with assistance from family members, according to Huron police. While on the run in Canby, Oregon, Dominguez allegedly shot several Sureno gang members at a gathering on April 17.

Through further investigation, police officials discovered that Dominguez was linked to a narcotics ring in Arizona with connections to Mexican drug cartels, and was also linked to the selling of stolen property on eBay. His cell phone was used as a point of contact for those transactions.

Investigators from the Huron and Canby police departments were able to use the suspects cell phone signal to trace his calls to a location in Phoenix, Ariz. On May 7, undercover agents located and arrested Domginuez at the home of a Norteno crime lord, according to Huron police.

Dominguez is currently being extradited to Oregon to stand trial for attempted murder. He faces similar charges in Fresno County.