14 DAY TRIAL // 29-year-old Romanian national Doru Gabriel Trifu has been sentenced to 8 years in a US federal prison and three years of supervised release for his role in a wire fraud scheme.
He will also have to pay $562,240 (€411,716) in restitution. This represents around the same amount of money made through the scheme.
According to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the man has been charged and convicted on 33 counts of wire fraud in an Internet fraud scheme. Since he isn’t a US citizen (he’s a non-immigrant residing in California), Trifu will be deported back to Romania after he’s released from jail.
The fraudster was part of a scheme in which various items were put up for sale online. Those interested in buying them were told to send payment via MoneyGram to an escrow agent. Of course, the victims never got the items they had ordered.
Authorities presented a lot of evidence to support their case, including surveillance videos and photos taken at Walmart stores where the fraudulent transactions were made. Victims and a special agent also testified.
The agent told the court that around 230 fraudulent transactions were identified between March 2011 and February 2012. Two fake US passport numbers were used.
“This case serves as an important and timely 'Cyber Monday' reminder that consumers need to be careful when shopping online,” commented Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge of ICE.
The judge, Senior U.S. District Judge John Rainey, has noted that this is one of the most extensive fraud schemes he has ever seen.
Trifu was arrested in California in November 2012. Until authorities decide where he’ll serve his sentence, he will remain in custody.