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Man sold goods on eBay, never delivered   Send a link to a friend

[August 08, 2007]  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A 37-year-old man was found guilty Tuesday of collecting more than $90,000 in payments for Rolex watches and sports tickets through eBay but never delivering the merchandise to customers.

Gilbert Vartanian operated the scam from 2001 to 2004, using more than a dozen user-identification names.

A federal court jury convicted him of 12 counts of mail fraud. Vartanian faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. He was arrested earlier this year in Fremont.

Vartanian held online auctions for the watches, as well as for tickets to games with the New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Green Bay Packers and New York Jets.

Buyers were told to send their money to Vartanian's mailboxes. He either did not respond or sent back empty envelopes or blank sheets of paper.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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