Hanover Man Pleads Guilty to Fraud Scheme Involving eBay Sales
| U.S. Attorney’s Office November 21, 2012 |
ROCKFORD—A Hanover, Illinois man pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala in federal court in Rockford to wire fraud. Anthony F. DeFilippo, 56, of Hanover, admitted that from 2009 to 2011 he devised and engaged in a scheme to defraud and obtain money, funds, and property from Walmart.com Inc., credit card issuers, and credit card holders by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.
According to the written plea agreement, DeFilippo admitted that he used his eBay account to sell various types of merchandise, such as vacuum cleaners and sewing machines, that another participant in the scheme then fraudulently purchased from Walmart.com Inc. through the unauthorized use of names and credit cards numbers of other credit cardholders. The merchandise was then shipped to the address of the person that had purchased the item through DeFilippo’s eBay account but addressed to the credit cardholder. DeFilippo further admitted that he arranged for the money eBay received from the eBay buyers to be paid to him through PayPal debit cards. DeFilippo periodically withdrew money from the debit cards, keeping a portion for himself and sending the rest to other persons, including persons in foreign countries such as Ukraine.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and mandatory restitution. The court may also impose a fine totaling twice the loss to any victim or twice the gain to the defendant, whichever is greater. The court must impose a reasonable sentence under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The entry of the plea agreement was announced by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Frank Benedetto, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the U.S. Secret Service; William C. Monroe, Acting Special Agent in- Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Hiram Grau, Director of the Illinois State Police.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Love.