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Message from the Global Law Enforcement Operations Team:
Hello! and welcome to the Global Law Enforcement Operations Police Blotter. Most Community members have not heard much about what eBay does behind the scenes to pursue, apprehend and prosecute fraudsters on ebay.com and paypal.com. The purpose of the Police Blotter is to share information with the Community about our efforts with law enforcement around the world. As you know, eBay Inc. is committed to creating a safe, well lit marketplace. When people break our policies, violate consumer trust and the law of the land, eBay and PayPal work with law enforcement agencies around the world to apprehend and prosecute fraudsters. For that reason, eBay created the Global Law Enforcement Operations team.
The cases below do not reflect all of our success stories. The cases have been chosen to provide you with examples of various cases where we have assisted law enforcement in convicting a fraudster. Please visit us again as we will update the Police Blotter every 6 weeks.
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Sentencing for fake designer handbag scam
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Jenny Donahue, a.k.a. Jenny Bryant, 28, pleaded guilty in June 2007 to defrauding over 250 victims by selling over $100,000 in fake designer accessories, mostly handbags, on eBay. Federal Judge J. Garvan Murtha sentenced Donahue Jan. 10, 2008 to five years of probation, 100 hours community service and restitution. The eBay Fraud Investigations Team assisted investigators on an ongoing basis for 2+ years.
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Walla Walla man sentenced in gold coin fraud
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Gary S. Harmas, 55, has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison for a fraud scheme involving gold coin sales over the Internet. Harmas pleaded guilty in October to 12 counts of wire fraud in connection with the scheme. Officials said that beginning in October 2004, Harmas advertised American Eagle gold coins for sale on the eBay Web site, but didn't have an inventory of the gold coins. PayPal and eBay received 188 customer complaints for non-delivery, shut down his account in 2005, and sustained a loss of $267,615. Harmas was ordered to pay $310,733 in restitution to the victims. He will remain under court supervision for three years after he is released from prison. |
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Ex-lab coordinator charged with theft
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Daniel Korpenfelt, 53, a former lab coordinator for Portland State University's electrical and computer engineering department, is accused of stealing about $260,000 worth of Tektronix Inc. equipment from the school over the past three years. The indictment stems from the theft of 27 Tektronix machines from the university. Once arrested, Korpenfelt told police that he sold the stolen equipment to supplement his $43,476 annual income and used the extra cash for travel. Police estimate that he pocketed about $60,000 from the sale of the stolen instruments. Korpenfelt pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with 17 counts of aggravated theft and first-degree theft.
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Guilty Plea for Non Delivery of Goods in the UK |
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A man who conned eBay customers out of approximately $20,000 was sentenced in mid-February to six months jail suspended for 18 months and ordered to complete 100 hours of community service. David Cartmell, 43, built up a credible reputation for buying and selling household and kitchen goods as well as computer goods on eBay. He then switched to selling mainly computer goods and did not fulfill a number of orders for customers from across Europe, despite cashing checks sent to his address. He pleaded guilty to eight offences of obtaining a money transfer by deception.
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Safety
Tip of the Month
:
Would you like help identifying if an email is real or fake? Iconix Truemark icons can help reduce the risk of email fraud by confirming the source of the sender. For more information visit here.
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