La Pine Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Money Laundering

EUGENE, Ore. – On July 11, 2017, United States District Court Judge Ann Aiken sentenced Erik William Johnson, 44, of La Pine, Ore., to two years in federal prison for money laundering.

According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, Johnson defrauded ninety-one eBay customers of over $180,000 in payments for high-end digital cameras he advertised for sale on eBay. The wire fraud scheme occurred over a three-week period in June 2011. Johnson received $189,916.99 in payments but only shipped $5,245 worth of cameras to customers.

The basis of Johnson’s guilty plea to money laundering was his use of proceeds from the eBay scheme to pay for a sport utility vehicle. The defrauded customers received refunds from eBay totaling $103,838.98.

Johnson will remain out of custody until September 2018 to allow him to complete his studies at a local community college. The court ordered him to pay $103,838.98 to eBay and perform 150 hours of community service.

This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI and the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, and was prosecuted by William "Bud" Fitzgerald, Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Oregon.