Online Car Sales Fraudster Makes FBI's Most Wanted List

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By Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai2013-10-25 18:45:43 UTC

A group of seven Eastern European online car dealers made $3 million selling cars, motorcycles, and boats on sites like eBay, Cars.com or AutoTrader.com in less than two years. This would be a great example of how the Internet opens up opportunities for global commerce if it weren't for the fact that those cars, motorcycles and boats did not actually exist.

The seven alleged fraudsters were part of a sophisticated group whom the FBI describes as "a band of dangerous cybercriminals." The group scammed mostly U.S. victims, using fake email accounts, fake passports, and fake Paypal and Amazon Payment invoices. The group was led by Nicolae Popescu, a 33-year-old Romanian who is now one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives.

See also: The Secrets of Online Money Laundering

"Popescu and his co-conspirators were masters of illusion, but they can’t escape their ultimate reality. With the help of our law enforcement partners at home and abroad, we will bring them to justice," FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos said in the FBI's press release.

The seven cybercriminals, who are said to have operated from around April 2011 until Dececember 2012, were indicted in the Eastern District of New York, accused of wire fraud, money laundering, passport fraud and trafficking in counterfeit service marks. The indictment (.PDF) was unsealed on Thursday.

Popescu was allegedly the ring leader, coordinating the work of the others, hiring and firing fake passport makers, supervising the people in charge of placing fraudulent ads on eBay and other websites like Cars.com, and made sure the proceeds of the imaginary car sales were swiftly processed and transferred to himself and his conspirators.

Popescu and four other accused remain at large, and Interpol has issued "red notices" for their capture.

In a conversation obtained by wiretap on July 28, 2011, Popescu apparently bragged that being based in Romania would shield him from U.S. justice. "Criminals will not be extradited from Romania to U.S.A. ... [I]t will never happen," he said, according to the press release.

With the FBI and Interpol on his trail, however, Popescu may soon find out.

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Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Topics: cybercrime, ebay, FBI, scam, U.S., US & World, World