Philadelphia woman jailed for eBay scam
Published October 19th, 2006
On Wednesday, a Lehigh Valley, Pa., woman was sentenced in Philadelphia to three years in prison for scamming 75 people nationwide on the popular Internet auction site.
Julie C. Miller, 34, who had addresses in New Tripoli, Hellertown and Breinigsville, also was sentenced to three years’ supervised release by U.S. District Judge Stuart Dalzell. Miller collected nearly $70,000 between November 2003 and January 2005 from people who never received their merchandise.
Miller pleaded guilty in July to three counts of mail fraud and could have been sentenced to as many as 20 years in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joan Markman, who described Miller as an “unremitting con artist,” said Miller had four convictions between 2002 and 2005 in Lehigh County for various offenses, including trafficking in stolen and counterfeit checks.
Miller also had been arrested nine times in Lehigh and Northampton counties, most recently in April for stealing $12,000 in checks from a Hanover Township, Northampton County, business while negotiating a plea deal for the eBay thefts, Markman said.
“What troubles me most is that this all happened while under probation in Lehigh County,” Dalzell said. “I have to protect the public from you.”
According to prosecutors, Miller’s scam was simple: to offer products via eBay with “no intention of providing.”
Items Miller advertised included Pittsburgh Steelers tickets, merchant gift cards, Gucci handbags, Disney World passes and tickets to the Super Bowl.
When customers complained, she found different ways to avoid them. Some she sent “cheap” or “counterfeit” goods. Others she provided phony package tracking numbers.
In most cases she “ducked” calls and e-mails from customers demanding their products or refunds, Markman said. Sometimes she sent refund checks that bounced.
Customers eventually complained to eBay, which closed Miller’s account. But Markman said Miller simply would open a new account under a different name, e-mail address and bank account.
Related Articles