Eugene Woman Sentenced to Prison for Selling More Than 5,000 Illegally Obtained Sprint Cellphones Over the Internet

EUGENE, OR—On January 8, 2013, Tamara Diane Brown, 41, of Eugene, Oregon, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in U.S. District Court in Eugene, admitting her involvement in a scheme to sell illegally obtained cellphones through the Internet. Today, she was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution to the victim.

Brown admitted that while working as an employee of The Pape Group Inc. in Eugene, she used her corporate authority to order large quantities of Sprint cellphones, which she then diverted and had delivered to her home and the home of her friend. Brown sold the devices through eBay. The scheme to defraud The Pape Group Inc. and Sprint took place between February 2010 and October 2011. Brown admitted that during the scheme, she improperly ordered 5,107 cellphones and obtained more than $305,000 from selling them. She deposited the ill-gotten gains into her personal bank account and spent the proceeds by making a down payment on a residence and for vehicles, trips to Hawaii and Las Vegas, clothes, and other personal expenses. The Pape Group Inc. and Sprint were unaware of the fraud during the time it was occurring. Brown was terminated once The Pape Group Inc. discovered her scheme.

Chief United States District Judge Ann Aiken presided over the case ordered Brown to serve 21 months in federal prison. After her prison sentence Brown must serve three years of supervised release. Brown was also ordered to forfeit the $305,000 she made from the fraud and pay full restitution to the Pape Group, Inc.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chris Cardani and Amy Potter.