среда, 19 сентября 2012 г.

Man gets jail for scam on eBay involving sports cards.(Knight Ridder Newspapers) - Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service

AKRON, Ohio _ 'Take me out to the ball game'' became 'take me to the cleaners'' after a onetime Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, man was done scamming three sports card collectors.

Brian D. Wildman, 31, sent out a flier on eBay, the Internet auction service, offering to sell a complete set of 1952 Topps and 1949 Leaf baseball cards and assorted basketball cards.

Three people, two from New York and one from Texas, took a swing at Wildman's curve ball last spring, paying $12,000 for the Topps set, $10,011 for the Leaf set and $1,175 for the basketball cards.

According to price indexes, the Topps set alone, which includes the likes of Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Ted Williams, retails for $65,000.

The Leaf set, which included players such as Jackie Robinson and Joe DiMaggio, sells for more than $30,000.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Kern, the buyers sent their money to Wildman, but struck out when it came time to see their purchase.

'Of course, since there were no cards, there was nothing to send,'' Kern said.

The frustrated collectors contacted eBay and the FBI. Wildman was identified through computer records and a post office box he used in Cuyahoga Falls to receive the payments. Since then, Wildman moved to Miami, Fla.

On Monday, Wildman was sentenced to five months in prison and five months of house arrest by U.S. District Court Judge Dan A. Polster. He pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud.

Polster ordered Wildman to make restitution to his victims.

Wildman's public defender, Dennis Terez, did not return a phone call for comment. Officials from eBay in San Jose, Calif., also failed to return a call seeking comment.

Kern said Internet sales fraud cases are growing along with the industry and cautioned buyers to beware.

EBay does provide some information its users give about the reliability of buyers and sellers on its Web site under the heading of Feedback Forum.

The FBI has also established an Internet fraud complaint center at www.ifccfbi.gov.

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(c) 2002, Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio).

Visit Akron Beacon Journal Online at http://www.ohio.com/.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.