CHICAGO (STNG) - One of the leaders of a 2006 eBay fraud scheme was sentenced to 27 years in prison Wednesday.
Adrian Florin Fechete, a 39-year-old Romanian, is accused along with 20 other defendants of participating in an international scheme that swindled more than 2,000 eBay bidders and other Internet users in the United States and abroad out of $5 million.
U.S. District Judge John W. Darrah imposed the sentence after a jury convicted Fechete in October of multiple counts of wire fraud, identity theft and aiding and abetting in the sale or receipt of stolen goods. He received one of the longest sentences in Chicago history for a white-collar offense. The lengthy sentence includes a 24-month consecutive term for aggravated identity theft, according to U.S. Attorney’s office spokesman Randall Samborn.
Fechete was initially arrested in 2005 for allegedly scamming $125,000 from three people who thought they were getting a second chance to buy items they didn't win on eBay the first time, including a band saw, a motorcycle and a 1956 Chevy.
As part of the international scheme, the defendants invited unsuccessful eBay bidders to participate in a "second-chance" auction. Couriers, who often used fake IDs, would pick up the money at a Western Union in the Chicago area, and the customer would never receive the item.
The fraudulent Internet solicitations allegedly originated from and a large amount of the proceeds were transmitted to co-schemers primarily believed to be living in Romania.
Many of Fechete’s co-defendants have already been sentenced for their roles in the scam.
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