Listings on eBay may turn a $259,000 scam in fact

An eBay seller charged of defrauding buyers of $259,000 using fake eBay listings and other venues was ordered to serve 52 months in federal prison with $252,000 to be paid as a compensation, reports the register.

Derrick Lee Swantz, 57, of Lakewood, Colorado was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver in October 2007 and in January, a jury found him guilty of one count of mail fraud and 27 counts of wire fraud. In one scheme he offered luxury cars for sale on eBay and Autotrader.com. The autos he advertised included a 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SE, a 2001 Mercedes-Benz S500, a 2002 Mercedes-Benz S500, and a 1997 Infiniti Q45.

When potential buyers contacted him by email or by phone he instructed them to send payments via wire transfer or cashier’s check. Once the payments were made Swantz failed to deliver any vehicle.

The other scheme involved buying lower price Xerox machines for their further sale for a higher amount. Swantz asked potential investors to finance his business so that he could acquire and refurbish a particular machine. Victims paid him over $17,500, according to prosecutors.