• A man stole trailer parts from his employer and sold them on eBay because he had fallen behind with mortgage payments. The 35 year old man from Buckley in Flintshire admitted theft and money laundering by converting the stolen goods into cash on eBay. He was given a nine month prison sentence suspended for two years, plus 180 hours of unpaid community work. He must also attend a course to help him learn to think clearly.
• A Leeds man has been convicted of eight offences of obtaining a money transfer by deception, after he cashed cheques sent to him by eBay buyers, but did not supply any goods. He had initially traded successfully on the site, and had been made a Powerseller, but is said to have conned up to £10,000 out of buyers before his account was suspended last October.
• A Tadcaster man has been jailed for 12 months for stealing stock from his employer to sell on eBay. Bosses were tipped off by an anonymous letter, and found that the 44 year old father of two had been taking home “small, valuable items” from the engineering company for two years.
• A Vermont woman has been convicted of selling fake designer handbags and other gear on eBay. The 28 year old woman used a dozen or more eBay IDs, and prosecutors brought evidence of 250 fraud victims, out of a total of 632 eBay auctions, with over $100,000 lost. The judge was asked to consider a custodial sentence of up to 41 months, but because the woman had minor children, she was sentenced to five years of probation, 100 hours of community service, and restitution.
2 Responses
anyone that sells hookey gear on ebay is crackers,
every item is totally traceable
From the other end of the viewpoint, I have recently been involved with a disciplinary procedure, where a work colleague was sacked for using the company franking machine to pay for the postage on his eBay sales.
Dismissed for misappropriation and gross misconduct, and very lucky that we did not press criminal charges as well – the sum involved was approx £600.
Hardly worth ending a career over, and jeopardising any future employment.
(I blame the P&P DSR’s forcing him to reduce his postal costs….!!!)