An eBay seller pleaded guilty to selling stolen goods and will be sentenced on April 19, 2022. The charge of “transportation of stolen goods in interstate commerce” carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The seller owned and operated a pawn store in Rochester, New York. The Feds say he and his employee “purchased stolen goods and merchandise from individuals, commonly referred to as “boosters,” who shoplifted the goods and merchandise from Rochester area retail stores.”
The pawn store owner routinely advised the boosters what type of merchandise to steal from the retail stores, such as Lowes, Home Depot, Target, and Walmart, according to the Department of Justice press release, “and then paid the boosters a fraction of the true retail value for the goods.”
The store owner then listed the stolen goods for sale on eBay, advertising the goods as “New” or “New-In-Box” and priced below retail value, according to the release, which said the sales added up to over $3.2 million worth of goods sold to buyers located outside of New York State between January 2017 and November 2019.
The government noted that the store employee was previously convicted in connection to the case and is awaiting sentencing. A 2019 news article from Rochester First said three other people had also been charged.
The full press release is available on the DOJ website.
That’s a LOT of eBay fees as well. Makes me wonder how much of this goes on with eBay, not even necessarily on this scale, but with the recent news of train cargo robberies in Los Angeles, there may be likely a boost in eBay’s revenue this quarter!
I wonder how they caught the pawn owner? Does anybody know if there was a snitch? or was there a stakeout to catch him?