MUNCIE, Ind. -- Three people have been sentenced in a fraud investigation involving more than $1 million worth of Amazon merchandise.
Erin and Leah Finan, both 38 of Muncie, plead guilty to federal mail fraud and money laundering charges and were sentenced to 71 and 68 months respectively.
Danijel Glumac, 29 of Indianapolis, plead guilty to money laundering and fencing items and was sentenced to two years.
“Consumer fraud not only unjustly enriches the perpetrator, it causes all of us to pay higher retail prices,” U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler said. “To those who seek to exploit the convenience of online shopping through fraud, remember this case. You will be caught. You will be prosecuted. And you will go to federal prison for a long time.”
According to Minkler, the Finans and Glumac stole and sold more than 2,700 electronics items GoPro digital cameras, Xbox’s, Samsung smartwatches, and Microsoft Surface tablets. Their theft included more than $1.2 million in stolen products and they made more than $750,000 by selling it over a two-year period.
"For the Finans, fraud had become a way of life. Their Amazon scheme was their “job.” It involved placing thousands of Amazon orders, creating hundreds of false identities, retrieving their stolen goods from retail shipping stores all over Indiana, and selling them to their fence, Glumac, on a near-daily basis."
“Shopping online has changed the way we think of retail. Many of those purchases are shipped to consumers using the U.S. Mail,” Patricia Armstrong of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said. “Glumac and the Finans found a way to commit fraud in the process. Postal Inspectors are proud to have partnered with fellow law enforcement to put an end to the illegal endeavors of these three criminals.”
The Finans and Glumac were also ordered to pay full restitution of $1,218,504.
