Oakland County man gets more than 6 years in prison for eBay auction fraud
Published June 6th, 2006
A figurine dealer accused of pocketing more than $300,000 from fraudulent Internet auctions was sentenced Monday to more than six years in prison.
Stewart C. Richardson, 65, of Oakland County’s White Lake Township, was sentenced to 74 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman. Richardson had pleaded guilty in February to one count each of mail fraud and wire fraud.
Friedman also ordered Richardson to serve three years of supervised release and pay $323,261 in restitution to his nearly 200 victims.
The sentence was twice as harsh as probation officials had recommended, the Detroit Free Press reported.
“I have to send a message to Americans that there will be swift and sure punishment for these types of crimes,” Friedman said in court.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Hurley had asked Friedman to impose at least five years in prison, saying Richardson carefully planned the scheme, remained a fugitive for nearly four years after pocketing the cash and showed no remorse.
But Deputy Federal Defender Jonathan Epstein urged Friedman to consider a short prison sentence so Richardson could get a job and start paying restitution. Epstein said Richardson had been a law-abiding businessman and family man before cocaine addiction led him astray.
The case is based on a Dec. 28, 2001-Jan. 4, 2002 eBay auction of figurines from an apparently fictitious estate in Phoenix. Though pictures of the Lladro, Hummel and Wee Forest Folk figurines were posted on the online auction site, customers say the photos came from catalogs.
