posted on June 13, 2003 11:33:39 AM new
Seller On eBay To Be Sentenced For Defrauding Customers
Authorities: Man Stopped Shipping Merchandise
POSTED: 10:54 a.m. PDT June 13, 2003
LOS ANGELES -- A Los Angeles man who authorities say defrauded eBay customers in one of the largest online auction scams to come to light will be sentenced Friday.
Chris Chong Kim, 28, pleaded no contest to grand theft on May 9 and agreed to pay $100,000 toward restitution, prosecutors said.
Kim faces a three-year state prison term. But Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Fairtlough has said the defendant will do his time in a restitution center, where he can work and pay off victims.
Kim had a business site on eBay called Calvin Auctions and had been selling high-end computers, laptops and other equipment for two years. But he stopped shipping merchandise in April 2002, according to prosecutors.
More than 170 customers around the world registered complaints. The criminal complaint against Kim alleged a total loss of $453,000 to 26 customers and to eBay and Bank of America.
The average loss per customer ranged from $1,900 to $6,000, according to prosecutors.
The case was investigated by the Southern California High Tech Task Force after complaints were lodged with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center.
Kim's auction site was shut down last July, Fairtlough said, and he was arrested last December.
