Two arrested in federal `Cyber Sweep'.Byline: Sherri Buri McDonald The Register-Guard A national crackdown on Internet fraud A crime in which the perpetrator develops a scheme using one or more elements of the Internet to deprive a person of property or any interest, estate, or right by a false representation of a matter of fact, whether by providing misleading information or by concealment of has swept up two Oakridge residents. An indictment by a federal grand jury in Eugene alleges that Vernon R. Crump crump v. crumped, crump·ing, crumps v.tr. 1. To crush or crunch with the teeth. 2. To strike heavily with a crunching sound. v.intr. , 36, and Diana L. Davis, 42, conspired to commit Internet fraud with a series of rifle sales, and bank fraud involving counterfeit checks. The pair entered not guilty pleas on Wednesday. Dubbed dub 1 tr.v. dubbed, dub·bing, dubs 1. To tap lightly on the shoulder by way of conferring knighthood. 2. To honor with a new title or description. 3. "Operation Cyber Sweep," the investigation has uncovered 125,000 victims with losses topping $100 million, law enforcement officials said Thursday. The FBI, working with five other national agencies that investigate Internet fraud, launched the probe on Oct. 1 to boost awareness of the growing problem. The Internet Fraud Complaint Center, run in part by the FBI, referred 58,000 complaints to law enforcement around the country in the first nine months of 2003, up from 48,000 for all of 2002. The Eugene indictments are two of 70 nationwide that so far have led to the arrests or convictions of 125 people. Craig Weinerman, the federal defense attorney representing Crump, said he has advised his client not to talk to the media. And John Kolego, Davis's attorney, said: "At this point my client is presumed to be innocent and I'd hope that people would keep an open mind about it." A jury trial is set for Jan. 28. The indictment alleges that Crump and Davis devised a scheme in which they advertised guns for sale on an Internet auction site, notified bidders that they had won and told the bidders that they would ship the guns as soon as they received payment. The winning bidders sent checks or money orders to Davis, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the indictment, but they never got the guns. The auction site was not identified in the indictment. The indictment listed three victims: A Nebraska man Nebraska Man was the name applied by the popular press to Hesperopithecus haroldcookii, a putative species of ape. Hesperopithecus meant "ape of the western world" and it was heralded as the first higher primate of North America. who thought that he won an online auction for a stainless steel stainless steel: see steel. stainless steel Any of a family of alloy steels usually containing 10–30% chromium. The presence of chromium, together with low carbon content, gives remarkable resistance to corrosion and heat. 300 Winchester Magnum Winchester Magnum refers to a "family" of cartridges developed by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company , one of the oldest firearms manufacturers in the United States, in the late 1950's and early 1960's, all based on the same basic cartridge case. Ruger Mark II rifle; a Mississippi man who had bid on a 300 Weatherby Magnum Mark V Deluxe rifle; and a California man who had bid on Model 94 Winchester 30-30 rifle. The value of the guns was not disclosed. The indictment also alleges that Crump and Davis stole mail from a different victim and, using the stolen data, created counterfeit checks that they then attempted to cash at banks. Crump was on supervised release from a prior federal conviction on Internet fraud, involving the sale of computer parts and guns to 45 people in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and the Netherlands, said Sean Hoar, an assistant U.S. attorney. Crump and Davis are being held at the Lane County jail, Hoar said. |
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