Internet buyers bilked out of $40,000 by local resident
Published on July 16th, 2003
STONEHAM, MA - Donning himself as a wealthy author conducting research for a book on the Internet and promising to donate the proceeds of eight phony electronic auctions to charity, a Stoneham man allegedly bamboozled at least $625 from Yahoo users, say police officials.
Pleading not guilty to one felony count of larceny by false pretense, Thomas Greenlaw Jr, of 13 Pomeworth Street, was arraigned in Woburn District Court last Tuesday. Greenlaw also faces three other felony larceny counts and 17 other charges stemming from a similar January arrest.
According to Stoneham Police Detective Robert McKinnon, Greenlaw has defrauded at least $40,000 from E-Bay and Yahoo Internet users over the past year and a half.
"This is just one charge that we have on him at this time. This time, it was for a laptop computer for $625. There's probably a dozen more auctions that were bid on," said McKinnon, who didn't rule out the possibility that additional charges could be filed against the 24-year-old.
"I've had three contacts within the last month, but one of the users was skeptical (about the auction) and didn't send the payment. The other one really didn't want to come forward and cooperate," the detective added, saying that the third person pressed charges against the Stoneham resident.
In an attempt to woo potential victims wary of negative feedback listed under Greenlaw's three separate screen names on the Yahoo auction site, the Stoneham resident allegedly posted several messages saying he would donate all proceeds from the sales to a charity of the winning bidder's choice, says McKinnon.
"The money raised through these auctions will be donated to local charities. I'm not making a cent off of this. I will take recommendations from the winning bidder of the type of charity they would like their money to go to," read one message, according to police reports.
In addition, Greenlaw also purportedly told users suspicious of the low selling price of the laptops that he was a wealthy author writing a book on the Internet who didn't need to make money off of the transactions.
"I am a writer by trade and working on my next book. I am not famous and highly doubt I ever will be. I just hope to someday just make a difference. I come from a wealthy background which has enabled me to pursue my literary dreams," Greenlaw reportedly wrote.
"Maybe you had a great experience and paid $1 for something worth $1000. Maybe you never got anything at all. I am not a fraud and do not plan on stealing from anybody, so please don't send me emails asking me if I'm serious. I will just delete them," the message continued.
According to McKinnon, investigators first warned Greenlaw to cease his fraudulent Internet activities last August after pulling the youth over for a non-related traffic violation.
Claiming that he ignored that warning, increasing his fraudulent sales by posting several auctions for X-Boxes, police officials arrested Greenlaw in January and charged him with 14 counts of larceny under false pretense.
Since that arrest, the 24-year-old allegedly posted eight auctions for laptop computers this June, and at least six auctions for cameras, receiving bids as high as $650 for the items.
Writing similar explanations for the low cost of his camera sales, Greenlaw told some of his customers that a camera store he once owned went out of business, according to Yahoo descriptions of the items.
"For more than 27 years, I owned my own small business selling cameras. I had a great run that has unfortunately come to an end. I have had my leftover inventory sitting for too long, according to my wife, so I bring my leftovers to Yahoo Auctions," explained one of the messages.
According to McKinnon, while the number of fraudulent postings hasn't increased since Greenlaw's last arrest, the total monetary amount of the transactions have.
"The dollar values have increased compared to what he normally sold in the past. He used to be in the couple hundred dollar range, but now he's into the $400-$700 range," McKinnon commented, adding that at one point Greenlaw attempted to swindle approximately $7000 from college students in Connecticut looking to purchase rare comic books.
Although online auction sites provide several security features to discourage fraudulent transactions including feedback forms and refund policies, McKinnon claimed that those options could easily be bypassed by a savvy Internet user.
"Anybody who sends out a check or money order before they receive any goods is taking a risk," commented McKinnon, who recommends that consumers utilize a cash-on-delivery option or pay with credit card to safeguard against fraud.
Greenlaw's next court date is scheduled for September 9th, where it will be decided whether to pursue the 19 charges currently levied against the Pomeworth Street resident. Currently, the 24-year-old has been released on bail.
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