"This was on any showing a major and sophisticated fraud," Judge Duncan Matheson told the trio, according to Reuters. “It exploited perceived weaknesses in the eBay system."
Nicolae Cretanu, 30, his wife Adriana Cretanu, 23, and George Titar, 26, pleaded guilty to charges of obtaining property by deception and money laundering. Cretanu was sentenced to three and a half years in jail, while his wife and accomplice received a sentence of 30 months each.
The trio operated accounts on auction house eBay under a variety of aliases, selling anything from concert tickets to binoculars. They would contact unsuccessful bidders by email, advising that they had been outbid but that there was a chance to buy a similar item if money was wired instantly to a money transfer firm in London.
The money was then collected, but no goods were sent, leaving up to 3,000 bidders around the world out of pocket.
The Cretanus and Titar took a share of the profits and sent the rest back to the fraud masterminds in Romania. In the two years that the trio operated the scam, eBay users lost a confirmed £300,000 – although the total figure could be much higher, according to reports.
Police fear that the scam could be continuing, as the Romanian network behind the fraud has not been closed down.
Speaking to the BBC, an eBay spokesman warned users to be very careful if contacted by a seller offering to provide goods “off-eBay” or seeking payment by money transfer.
