A Massachusetts man has been indicted on
wire and mail fraud charges in connection with a series of on-line scams in
which he received payments from individuals for the purported sale of items
such as laptop computers and video game systems. It is alleged that once he
received the payments, items were never delivered to the buyers and no refunds
were given.
United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan and Peter Zegarac, Postal
Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in New England,
announced today that THOMAS J. GREENLAW, age 26, of 13 Pomeworth Street,
Stoneham, Massachusetts, was indicted by a federal Grand Jury on 7 counts of
Mail Fraud and 6 counts of Wire Fraud.
The Indictment alleges that, from 2001 through 2003, GREENLAW scammed a
number of people by listing for sale, on Internet auction sites like ebay and
Yahoo Auctions, items that he did not have. According to the Indictment,
GREENLAW asked the customers to pay him by U.S. Postal Service money orders.
It is alleged that to persuade the customers that the sales were legitimate,
GREENLAW gave the customers a U.S. Postal Service tracking number for the
packages that he claimed were being shipped to them with their merchandise.
While the customers could confirm through the Postal Service website that a
package was on its way to their zip code, they could not tell to what specific
address the package was being sent.
The Indictment alleges that GREENLAW did often send a package to a
customer’s zip code, but these packages were addressed incorrectly and were
filled with blank videotapes instead of the merchandise he had sold them. It
is alleged that GREENLAW intentionally sent the packages to incorrect
addresses to generate the necessary Postal Service tracking number while
avoiding having the worthless packages delivered to the customers, which would
have immediately alerted them to the fraud. When customers complained to
GREENLAW that they had not received their merchandise, he often claimed there
had been a shipping error and refused to refund their money.
The Indictment alleges that GREENLAW spent the proceeds of this fraud
primarily on rent and other living expenses for himself.
If convicted, GREENLAW faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, to
be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine on each of
the 13 counts. GREENLAW is currently in prison in New Hampshire on unrelated
charges.
U.S. Attorney Sullivan would like to especially thank the Office of
Middlesex County District Attorney Martha Coakley for referring the case for
federal prosecution, and the Stoneham Police Department, which assisted in the
investigation. This case has been investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection
Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Bookbinder in
Sullivan’s Computer Crimes Unit.
The details contained in the Indictment are allegations. The defendant is
presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable
doubt in a court of law.

Posted: 09|30|05 at 9:01 am. Filed under: US News.