Fergie's Tech Blog

U.S. Secret Service Busts $5.7M Cisco Scam on eBay

Brad Reese writes on NetworkWorld's "Cisco Subnet" Blog:

California's Orange County Register is reporting that the U.S. Secret Service has busted a $5.7 million scam on eBay selling illegally obtained Cisco replacement parts.

Placentia, California resident - Thong Quoc Tran - has been arrested by U.S. Secret Service agents for allegedly filing more than 1,000 phony warranty claims on Cisco routers.

According to an affidavit by Special Agent Steven Kulpaca, Tran would obtain the serial numbers of routers legally purchased from Cisco by companies around the country.

Tran would then buy warranties on those routers, claim they were broken, and resell the replacement parts sent by Cisco at a discount on eBay.

posted by Fergie @ 12/11/2007 08:54:00 AM