eBay scammer gets jail time Posted by Power Sellers Unite

A Baraboo man charged with using promises of a valuable vintage guitar to scam eBay auction site users for thousands of dollars will have a summer vacation in the pokey after he copped a plea Wednesday. David N. Waldrop, 28, appeared in Sauk County Circuit Court to resolve two counts of theft by false representation and two counts of attempted theft by false representation. The charges stem from events that took place in October of 2008. According to court documents, a Baraboo police detective took complaints from four people who saw a 1961 Gibson ES-355 guitar Waldrop offered for sale on eBay. A man from Pennsylvania sent $4,500 to Waldrop’s Paypal account and a man from Munich, Germany wired $5,800 to him for the vintage instrument, court documents state. In return, the men said they received much cheaper Epiphone guitars when they opened packages sent by Waldrop, records state. An Internet search found Epiphone guitars with prices as low as $200. Examples of the 1961 Gibson instrument range from several thousand dollars to $15,000. Two other men offered amounts of $7,500 and $7,000 for the Gibson, records state. However, Waldrop ended negotiations with them when they wanted to come to Baraboo and actually look at the merchandise, the detective reported. The investigator found Waldrop had offered a Gibson ES-355 guitar for auction four separate times between Oct. 1 and Oct. 6, 2008, according to documents During Wednesday’s hearing Waldrop pleaded no contest to all four criminal counts and Judge Guy Reynolds found him guilty. The judge sentenced Waldrop to 30 days in the Sauk County Law Enforcement Center lock up and two years on probation. He must also pay restitution of nearly $10,500 to his victims and to take counseling at the direction of his probation agent. If he fails to comply with condition of his probation he risks having it revoked and being sentenced to more jail or state prison time. Waldrop is slated to begin his jail term August 16.

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