EBAY seller caught in web of fraud

When Shawn Key, of Manassas Va., paid $10,000 plus $200 for shipping on EBAY for a rare Spiderman comic book collection, he expected to receive the collector’s items that were pictured in e-mails sent to him by the seller. Instead, he got a pile of blank papers and then called the police.
Gabriel Mitchell, 20, of 106-02 32nd Avenue in East Elmhurst was arraigned on charges of grand larceny, faces up to seven years in prison, and will appear in the court again on Thursday, May 18.
Selling comic books is big business today with some comic books commanding several thousand dollars apiece. In most cases, the highly collectible comics being bought and sold on EBAY and other auction web sites are aimed at serious collectors and investors and not children,” said District Attorney Richard A. Brown.
“Such consumers, however, should be aware that in exchange for the convenience of using the Internet in trading such highly valued commodities as comic books they also may be unwittingly opening their front doors to schemers and grifters,” Brown said.
Between February 14 – 23, Mitchell allegedly auctioned the rare comic book collection on EBAY. Mitchell corresponded through emails and faxes on several occasions with Key, during which time, he emailed 31 images of the comic books and bar codes and serial numbers to Key.
After Key won the EBAY auction for the items, with a bid of $19,000, he was told to wire a portion of the money - $10,000 - into Mitchell’s bank account, and the same day Mitchell cashed a check for the amount. Instead of half the comic book collection, Key received a package containing only blank pieces of paper.