Ex-Anaheim Man Is Guilty of Swindling on Internet

A 31-year-old former Anaheim man who swindled $37,000 from bidders on the EBay Internet auction site pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges of mail fraud and illegally obtaining a credit card.

Robert J. Guest, who lives in Blue Jay in the San Bernardino Mountains, failed to deliver computers, cameras and jewelry that people bought from him through EBay from March to May 1998, Assistant U.S. Atty. Christopher Painter said. The case marks the second prosecution of Internet auction fraud in the nation, he said.

Guest, who fled to an undisclosed location after he cashed the checks he received from four auctions, turned himself in last month, Painter said.

The investigation began when customers complained to the Federal Trade Commission, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Postal Service. According to the FTC, crimes related to Internet auctions are the fastest-growing type of fraud in the United States. This year, the FTC has received 5,000 such complaints, Painter said.

He warned people to use caution when using Internet auction sites and to verify the seller’s identity.

“The Internet makes this type of crime possible with the anonymity that it provides,” Painter said. “It allows people to transact business without ever seeing each other. This type of crime is exploding.”

Guest’s attorney, Leon Peterson, could not be reached for comment. In an unrelated scheme, Guest obtained a credit card from American National Bank under a fake name and claimed to own a business. During 1998, Guest used the credit card to obtain $4,400 in cash and merchandise, prosecutors said.

Guest, who will be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Gary L. Taylor on Nov. 1, faces a maximum of 15 years in prison.