Net Auction Fraud:

A California man who collected $36,000 from bidders over EBay Inc.’s Internet auction site then failed to deliver promised goods was sentenced to 14 months in prison, federal authorities said. Robert J. Guest, who pleaded guilty to fraud in July, was also ordered to pay more than $101,000 in restitution, $36,193 of which will go to 31 EBay users, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles. Monday’s sentencing of Guest, 31, of Blue Jay, Calif., is believed to be the first federal prison sentence related to an Internet auction fraud, Mrozek said. Federal authorities regard such crimes as the fastest-growing type of fraud in the country. Guest has admitted to posting several listings on EBay’s Web site that fraudulently offered Sony digital cameras, IBM laptop computers and other items. Shares of San Jose-based EBay, the leading online auctioneer, fell $5.75 to close at $131.25 on Nasdaq.