Two Chicagoans have settled an Internet auction fraud case with the Federal Trade Commission, agreeing to return about $100,000 to settle a case charging them with identity theft to sell nonexistent goods and making it look like third parties were guilty of fraud, the FTC announced January 8.
James Thompson and Susan Germek have been banned for life from taking part in Internet auctions, making false claims about having and delivering merchandise, and misusing customers' personal information, the FTC said. But that isn't exactly the end of their trouble with the law: Germek has pleaded guilty to a mail fraud charge and awaits sentencing, while Thompson is under indictment for mail fraud and awaits a trial date.
The pair were said to have been online auction regulars since early 1999, opening "numerous accounts" on auction Websites, selling merchandise including software and electronics that they never delivered even after accepting payments. But the FTC said the twosome began their "serial identity theft" operation in 2001, setting up bank accounts and post office boxes in others' names, making consumers and law enforcement alike believe, in effect, that the identity theft victims were guilty of fraud.
The FTC said the usual victims were people Thompson knew, people whose identity information Germak would get from a suburban Chicago hotel's records, and even one person who was deceased. Thompson and Germak also changed their Internet auction account names frequently to hide their fraud, the FTC said.
Thompson was ordered to pay over $88,000 in consumer redress and Germak, over $5,000 in redress, but she was also given a suspended order to pay over $40,000 if found to have misrepresented her financial situation, the FTC said.
