An Essex County man today admitted failing to deliver goods his business sold to customers, stealing his customers’ credit card information and falsely claiming that purchases on his own account were fraudulent, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
According to officials Scott Spina Jr., 20, of Bloomfield, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Spina was in the business of selling high-end items, including sneakers, to customers that included professional athletes. Spina contracted with parties to provide high-end goods and collected payment for them, but failed to deliver the goods. He also made personal purchases using credit card information provided by his customers and others without their authorization. Spina also contacted his credit card company and falsely claimed that numerous purchases on his account were fraudulent. He admitted he obtained or sought to obtain more than $550,000 in money or goods.
The wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain to the defendant or twice the gross loss to others, whichever is greater.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 23, 2018.