16 Las Vegans face federal Internet charges
Federal charges have been unsealed against 16 Las Vegas residents accused of participating in an international Internet scheme that defrauded people who tried to purchase automobiles and other merchandise.
According to a news release issued Thursday by the office of Nevada's U.S. attorney, 13 of the defendants were arrested Wednesday in Las Vegas, and one was arrested at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia. The two remaining defendants have not been arrested.
Prosecutors allege the defendants and their associates obtained more than $3 million through the scheme and distributed the money among the conspirators both inside and outside the United States.
An indictment, returned Tuesday, identifies 28-year-old Eduard Petroiu as the leader of the conspiracy. He was among those arrested in Las Vegas.
According to the indictment, conspirators outside the United States offered items for sale on Internet sites such as Craigslist and AutoTrader from December 2008 through December 2011. The items, which included automobiles and watercraft, were offered at attractive prices.
To gain the confidence of prospective buyers, prosecutors allege, conspirators instructed buyers to complete the transactions through online services such as eBay and Yahoo!Finance. Prosecutors further allege that the conspirators sent emails to buyers that appeared to come from those entities, and the emails instructed buyers to remit payment to designated agents who were to hold the purchase money in escrow until the transactions were concluded.
"In reality, the entire transaction was a sham: the conspirators did not deliver any of the items offered for sale; neither eBay, Yahoo!Finance, nor any similar entity participated in these transactions; and the purported escrow agents designated to receive buyers' purchase money were actually participants in the scheme," according to the statement from the U.S. attorney's office.
Anyone with information about the defendants may call the FBI in Las Vegas at 385-1281. Those who wish to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.
Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.
