eBay news
acadia...@my-deja.com
Suspect arrested in eBay fraud
By The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Federal authorities arrested one man and were
searching for another suspected of ripping off buyers on eBay, the
largest Internet auction site.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Dorothy L. Shubin said the two unrelated cases
were among the first criminal prosecutions in the booming online
auction business.
George Arthur Cruz of Artesia and Hen Ben Haim of Encino allegedly
offered dozens of computers and other goods on eBay, then took the
winning bidders' money and sent them nothing. They defrauded buyers out
of more than $110,000, according to federal indictments made public
Tuesday.
"It's an old-fashioned fraud using new technology: promising products
and not delivering," said Shubin. "But using the Internet gives the
defendants the ability to reach victims all across the country."
More than 240 alleged victims mailed checks or money orders to the Los
Angeles area after submitting winning bids for items including
computers, camera equipment, musical instruments and replicas of
football helmets. U.S. postal inspectors intercepted checks and money
orders totaling $34,000, Shubin said.
Cruz, 31, and Haim, 27, were indicted last week by a federal grand
jury. Authorities arrested Cruz, also known as Richard Cortez, early
Tuesday at his workplace in Norwalk. Cruz, who could not be reached for
comment, posted $70,000 bail and is set to be arraigned next week on 13
felony counts of mail fraud and one felony count of money laundering.
He faces up to 75 years in federal prison.
Authorities have been unable to locate Haim, also known as Shay Albaz.
Haim was indicted on eight counts of mail fraud and faces up to 40
years in prison.
According to the indictments Haim and Cruz used aliases on eBay; Cruz
registered under such names as John Reese, Oscar Gamboa, Jon Wolf, Dean
Liu and Thomas K. Connors. In posting the auction listings,
he "concealed the fact that he either did not possess the merchandise
he was offering for sale, or that he did not intend to deliver the
merchandise to the purchasers," the indictment said.
An eBay representative said fraud is rare on the Internet auction site.
Among the safeguards eBay has set up, bidders can read evaluations of
sellers by previous buyers, and an escrow account can be used to hold
payments until the goods are delivered. The company also offers dispute
resolution and up to $200 in free insurance.
Market research studies have estimated that online auction sales will
total about $25 billion by 2005. EBay commands a large portion of the
business but hundreds of other Internet sites also offer online
auctions.
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/
x-guy
laundering. He faces up to 75 years in federal prison....."
".... Haim was indicted on eight counts of mail fraud and faces up to 40
years in prison."
Holy cow!! That's a serious crime.
"An eBay representative said fraud is rare on the Internet auction site..."
Do you believe that?
" The company also offers dispute resolution and up to $200 in free
insurance."
Two hundred dolloars!! Wow, that's a lot!
acadia...@my-deja.com
2 Sellers On EBay Arrested
Third suspect sought in online fraud case
Verne Kopytoff, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, December 28, 2000
©2000 San Francisco Chronicle
URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?
file=/chronicle/archive/2000/12/28/BU110493.DTL&type=business
Federal authorities have arrested two people and are looking for
another suspected of defrauding bidders of thousands of dollars on the
online auction site EBay.
The three suspects, who U.S. prosecutors believe worked independently,
are accused of taking winning bidders' money and not sending them their
merchandise.
The indictments come as authorities try to combat the growing problem
of Internet fraud, fueled in part by the relative anonymity of Web
commerce. Online auctioners in particular have been the focus of
numerous consumer complaints as more people use them to find bargains.
These criminal cases illustrate the risk buyers take when shopping on
auction Web sites. If something goes wrong, they may find it difficult
to recover the money short of a trial.
Two of the cases involving EBay focus on Southern California men who
sold computers and other electronic equipment, according to federal
indictments unsealed Tuesday. The men collected nearly $70,000 in money
orders and checks from winning bidders without ever sending them their
merchandise.
One of those suspects, George Arthur Cruz, of Artesia (Los Angeles
County) was arrested Tuesday morning at his work at a warehouse
retailer near Los Angeles. He was charged with 13 counts of mail fraud
and one count of money laundering for defrauding 18 people of nearly
$38,000.
The other suspect, Hen Ben Haim, an Israeli who has an expired U.S.
visa and has an office in North Hills, near Los Angeles, is still at
large. He took in nearly $32,000 from 200 people, according to the
indictment, and is charged with eight counts of mail fraud.
"Frankly, a lot of people doing business online are dismayed," said Ken
McGuire, a spokesman for the Los Angeles office of the FBI, which
oversaw the Cruz and Haim investigations with help from several other
agencies. "We want everyone to know that people can do business on the
Internet without fear of being defrauded."
A third fraud case involving EBay is aimed at Darla Prestwich of
Albany, Ore. She was arrested over the weekend for allegedly collecting
hundreds of thousands of dollars for jewelry, coins and sports
memorabilia that she misrepresented online or never delivered.
None of the suspects could be reached yesterday for comment. They face
punishment of several years in jail and thousands of dollars in fines.
Complaints to the Federal Trade Commission about online auction
transactions have increased dramatically, from around 100 in 1997 to
nearly 11, 000 last year.
San Jose's EBay has been the focus of several fraud complaints during
its brief history. The small Internet startup has become the Web's
dominant auction house, with nearly 5 million items for sale at any
time. For example, the company settled a suit this year filed by sports
collectors who accused it of doing nothing to stop the sale of
counterfeit sports memorabilia.
Last year, a Southern California man who auctioned merchandise on EBay
pleaded guilty to fraud in a case comparable to the ones now at issue.
He was sentenced to 14 months in prison and fined nearly $100,000 for
failing to deliver promised computers and cameras to 31 winning
bidders.
"Certainly, if you are the one person who has not received your
merchandise, it can shake your faith," said Kevin Pursglove, a
spokesman for EBay. "But as a percentage of transactions on EBay, fraud
is less than one-10th of 1 percent of all sales."
In most cases, EBay is immune from lawsuits by dissatisfied bidders.
The Web site acts as a sort of flea market landlord. Retailers who rent
its space are in general responsible for transactions.
Pursglove said that bidders on EBay have several safeguards against
fraud, including automatic free insurance that covers the first $200 of
any purchase with a $25 deductible. Buyers and sellers are also
required to register a credit card number to help identify them.
For extra protection, bidders can use an escrow account to pay for
their merchandise. But that costs an extra 1 to 3 percent of the
transaction's total value.
Pursglove recommended that buyers check a seller's background by
scrolling through the customer feedback feature on the Web site.
Consumers can post complaints there if they are unhappy about how they
have been treated by a merchant.
John Smith
the book at them.
<acadia...@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:92ftdo$jp3$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
Jay T. Blocksom
acadia...@my-deja.com wrote:
>
> From: http://digitalmass.boston.com/news/daily/12/27/ebay_fraud.html
>
> Suspect arrested in eBay fraud
> By The Associated Press
>
> LOS ANGELES (AP) - Federal authorities arrested one man and were
> searching for another suspected of ripping off buyers on eBay, the
> largest Internet auction site.
>
One (maybe two, depending on which version of the story you read) arrest,
out of the THOUSANDS of low-lifes that routinely infest eBay... And they
consider this newsworthy?
Sheesh.
-- Jay T. Blocksom
----------------------------
Appropriate Technology, Inc.
approtek[at]rcn.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NOTE: E-Mail address in "From:" line is INVALID! Remove +SPAMBLOCK to mail.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Unsolicited advertising sent to this E-Mail address is expressly prohibited
under USC Title 47, Section 227. Violators are subject to charge of up to
$1,500 per incident or treble actual costs, whichever is greater.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -