Florida Man Who Created 260 eBay Accounts Convicted In Elaborate Scam That Bilked $717,000 From Customers

The spread of online commerce has been accompanied by a spread of elaborate frauds — some of which have gathered tens of millions of dollars.

Accompanying the fraud have been stares of disbelief. Not all of the stares have been directed at the fraudsters themselves. Indeed, thousands and thousands of people globally at any point in time simply refuse to believe they’ve been scammed — perhaps owing to embarrassment.

Some of them point the finger of blame at law-enforcement agencies that take actions against the cyberspace scammers.

Online fraud can be particularly elaborate. It often takes advantage of brand names people trust. In the alleged AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme in Florida, for example, prosecutors say Google’s name was used by ASD promoters as a means of instilling trust in customers.

Names of other famous companies also were used by ASD promoters — names such as Kodak, Starbucks, Quiznos Sub, Callaway Golf, Macy’s, Toshiba, NBC, Farmers Insurance, USA Today, Priceline.com and more.

Today comes word that a Florida man has been convicted in a scheme carried out on eBay, one of the most famous websites and brands in the world.

Nilton Rossoni, 50, of Hallandale Beach, Fla., faces up to 20 years in prison.

How elaborate was the scheme?

Prosecutors said Rossoni created “more than 260 different eBay accounts” using aliases “or the real names and address of unsuspecting individuals.”

Rossoni gathered money for more than 5,500 items but never shipped them. He netted $717,000 over time, prosecutors said. Rossoni averaged about $130 per fraudulent sale.

Here is a breakdown of some of the listings:

• Textbooks.
• Computer flash drives.
• Rotisserie grills.
• Tools.
• Sporting equipment.
• DVD collections.
• Airline tickets.
• Saddles.
• Saddlebags.
• Designer luggage.
• Appliances.
• Metal detectors.

“When the auction ended, the winning bidders were notified to send payment to the defendant at a private mail box,” prosecutors said today.

“Customers of eBay sent payment to the defendant at 59 different private mailboxes opened in names of multiple aliases during the course of the scheme,” they continued. “Once the defendant received payment from the eBay auction winner, the funds were deposited in bank accounts under the control of the defendant, but in the name of a nominee entity or person.”