14 DAY TRIAL // The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) charged 16 individuals with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and criminal forfeiture after they were identified as selling fictitious vehicles online.
On December 14, thirteen of the suspects were apprehended in Las Vegas and one was arrested at the Washington Dulles International National Airport in Virginia, while two defendants still remain at large. Most of them pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them before United States Magistrate Judge Robert J. Johnston.
For a period of two years, starting in December 2008, the suspects located outside the US offered various items for sale in newspaper ads and websites such as Craigslist or Autotrader.
The automobiles, travel trailers and watercrafts advertised by them didn’t actually exist, but they managed to convince their victims to make advance payments via eBay or Yahoo! Finance.
In order to dupe them, they would send the unsuspecting users fake emails that seemed to come from eBay or Yahoo! Finances, advising them to transfer the funds to the designated services to be kept in escrow until the transactions were completed.
In reality, all the parties involved were in on the plot and no money ever went to eBay or any other legitimate company. The $3 million (2.1 million EUR) they fraudulently gained was split up between the conspirators both inside and outside the US.
Eduard Petroiu, 28, is considered to be the leader of the conspiracy, the defendant being aided directly by six others who are considered his subordinate managers.
The individuals, aged between 20 and 35, if convicted, could now face a sentence of up to 60 years in prison and fines that could rise as high as $1 million (700,000 EUR).
The efforts of the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department as part of its Nevada Cyber Crime and Southern Nevada Eastern European Organized Crime Task Forces should be applauded for terminating an operation that may have left hundreds of individuals without their life savings.