"Where's my Acura?" and "My Mercedes?" were the cries of outrage and, after an investigation, a Southern California man has been accused of faking the sales of luxury autos on the Internet auction site eBay.
David Hung Truong, 35, whose hometown was not made public, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in San Jose for allegedly defrauding eBay users of thousands of dollars in auctions for automobiles he never intended to deliver.
According to the indictment, between October 2003 and January 2004, Mr. Truong defrauded eBay users of approximately $40,000 in connection with eBay auctions for automobiles. Federal prosecutors say that as part of a scheme to host auctions online using aliases such as "finestcar2000s" and "acura-r-us," Mr. Truong allegedly deposited proceeds from his scheme into two bank accounts he opened. The automobiles ranged in price from just over $11,000 to over $20,000, including several Acuras and a Mercedes Benz. Ebay, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) of Sunnyvale, was not accused of any wrongdoing. The company assisted in the investigation, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Northern California.
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http://www.theage.com.au/news/Breaking/Police-warn-online-buyers-after-eBay-fraud/2004/12/24/1103825059299.html
Sydney
December 24, 2004
NSW police have warned internet shoppers to be careful with their cash after international fraudsters fleeced online bargain-hunters of tens of thousands of dollars.
Four people from the Coffs Harbour area in northern NSW have fallen victim to overseas fraudsters in the past fortnight after trying to buy items on the internet auction site eBay.
Detective Acting Sergeant Michael Dowden of Coffs Harbour police said yesterday it appeared to be a coincidence that four people from the same area had been defrauded, and it was likely there were others around Australia.
Together the four had lost "tens of thousands of dollars", he said.
People had paid for items such as motor vehicles - often at very low prices and through specific websites - and the products had not been delivered, leaving the buyers out of pocket.
Act Sgt Dowden said it appeared the fraudsters were professional operators based overseas, possibly in Greece and France.
There was little the NSW Police could do to prosecute people.
"It's hard to get the money back if it goes overseas," he said.
Police said online shoppers should check sellers' contact details, consider using a payment holding service, use a traceable form of payment such as a credit card and be wary of high-value goods with low prices that were hosted overseas.
"The bottom line is buyer beware," Act Sgt Dowden said.