Schizoid

10-19-05 Article About Eric Suchomski Pleading Guilty To Internet Fraud

URBANA, Illinois NEWS GAZETTE- A Champaign man with a history of computer-related fraud was sentenced Tuesday to probation and ordered to make several thousand dollars in restitution to three people he ripped off in fraudulent Internet schemes.

Eric Suchomski, 26, who listed an address in the 3700 block of Summer Sage Court, pleaded guilty before Champaign County Judge Harry Clem to four separate counts of felony theft, all of which alleged that he stole money from victims in November 2004 and January.

Assistant State's Attorney Adam Dill said Suchomski was purporting to sell items, including Bon Jovi concert tickets, gold coins and gold bars, on an Internet auction service, took payment from people who believed they were successful bidders, then never delivered the merchandise.

As part of a negotiated plea agreement, Suchomski was sentenced to 30 months of probation and ordered to make restitution of $7,282 in two years. He was also ordered to perform 150 hours of public service and get a substance abuse evaluation. The state also agreed not to file additional charges against him stemming from four other reports investigated by police.

Detective Pat Kelly said a woman from Fairhaven, Mass., who never got her Bon Jovi tickets, for which she had paid about $400, brought Suchomski to the attention of authorities. Kelly said Suchomski promised to repay her but never did. He ultimately admitted to stealing from victims in at least seven states.

Kelly said the victims in the other cases were older, retired folks, who apparently weren't bothered by Suchomski's demand that they deal in cash. That should have raised a red flag with the victims, Kelly said.

"There are safeguards in place like PayPal that make it more likely that you're going to receive merchandise or the payment," Kelly said. "One of the things he did was put a disclaimer on his site that said 'I will only accept cash, certified checks or money orders.' He was forcing people to bypass the security systems by forcing them to send him funds directly."

In 1997, Suchomski pleaded guilty in Champaign County to theft for participating in a scheme with five other teens to steal items, then sell them on the Internet. He was sentenced to court supervision and public service then.

Suchomski was also the subject of a federal civil suit in Nevada. Earlier this year a federal judge found him liable for hacking into the computer system of a California company that compiles and sells lists of e-mail addresses. He was ordered to pay $2.8 million in damages.

Contents [hide] 1 March 4, 2005 Eric Suchomski Pleads Innocent To Internet Theft Charges 2 May 23, 1997 Eric Suchomski Arrested For His Part In An Internet Burglary Ring 3 March 4, 2005 Suchomski ordered to pay in Nevada case 4 2-18-2005 R.P. Ventures Awarded $2.8 Million Judgment by Federal Court 5 March 22nd, 2005 EpicCash recieve $30,000 judgement 6 http://www.cccircuitclerk.com/ CRIMINAL CASE #05CF00322 Eric Suchomski 7 CRIMINAL CASE #01CM00194 Eric Suchomski 8 CRIMINAL CASE #97CF00712 Eric Suchomski 9 http://www.cccircuitclerk.com/ CIVIL CASE #05L 00053 Eric Suchomski 10 http://www.cccircuitclerk.com/ CIVIL CASE #05LM00296 Eric Suchomski 11 http://www.sccaseinfo.org/ Civil Case Eric Suchomski




March 4, 2005 Eric Suchomski Pleads Innocent To Internet Theft Charges URBANA - A Champaign man is accused of Internet fraud against people in four states.

Eric N. Suchomski, 26, who listed an address in the 3700 block of Summer Sage Court, pleaded innocent Thursday to five counts of felony theft.

Suchomski appeared in court Thursday with Champaign attorney Walter Ding and waived a preliminary hearing. Ding declined comment.

According to court records, Suchomski listed himself as privately employed in advertising.

He was arraigned Feb. 24 on five counts of felony theft of property having a value of more than $300 in each incident. His bond was set at $25,000, and Suchomski was released Tuesday after posting $2,500 in bail. Judge Thomas Difanis granted a request that Suchomski's bond be modified to allow him to travel to Nevada through March 10 to visit family.

Champaign police Detective Pat Kelly said Suchomski was arrested for taking money from people who believed they were successful bidders for items listed on Internet auctions.

Kelly had been contacted in December by police in Massachusetts, who reported that a woman there had complained that she had won an Internet auction for some concert tickets and sent money to Suchomski, who was the seller, but never received the tickets.

"The concert was over, and she still hadn't received any tickets," Kelly said. "She demanded her money back and he made promises, but never returned her money."

Through the investigation, Kelly uncovered complaints from five other people, all involving Internet bids on auctions for gold coins and gold bars.

The last two complaints came to Champaign police this week from Enchantment, Calif., and Ozark, Mo., he said.

In all the cases, the people sent in their money, but never received any gold. All the money was sent to Suchomski in Champaign, Kelly said. Police obtained a search warrant and recovered some evidence from Suchomski's home, the detective said.

Kelly warned people that this is a growing problem as more people try to buy items over the Internet and may not know with whom they are dealing.

"People have got to exercise consumer caution," Kelly said. "Use the safeguards available. Ask questions if people are going outside the norm."

Internet auction sites, like eBay and Overstock.com, generally accept PayPal or other secured payment intermediaries, Kelly said.

According to the detective, Suchomski posted as a condition of his auctions in these cases that he would not accept these secured services for payment. Rather, he required payment through certified check or money order, Kelly said.

Court records show Suchomski has been involved in other Internet legal tangles.

In 1997, when he was 18, Suchomski pleaded guilty to theft and admitted he participated in a scheme with five other teen-agers to steal items and sell them on the Internet.

As part of the plea agreement in that case, Suchomski was sentenced to two years of court supervision and ordered to perform 100 hours of public service work. Prosecutors also agreed to dismiss other charges in that case.

Prosecutors said at the time that the teen-agers sold stolen property to people in Canada, New Jersey, Florida and Arkansas.


May 23, 1997 Eric Suchomski Arrested For His Part In An Internet Burglary Ring CHAMPAIGN COUNTY CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS


Mahomet case part of investigation Police say they are investigating a burglary ring involving Centennial High School students suspected of selling stolen property, including some from Mahomet, over the Internet.

Brandon Kinney, 17, a student at Centennial, was arraigned this week on charges of residential burglary. He's accused of trying to steal a computer from a Champaign house Tuesday, police said. Details of the Mahomet case were not available.

Champaign police investigator Troy Daniels said as many as nine teen-agers, six from Centennial, are suspected of involvement. But only Kinney has been charged so far.

Police have linked the ring to six residential burglaries in Champaign, Mahomet, Savoy and Urbana, with losses estimated at more than $40,000. Items taken include computer equipment, jewelry, cash, clothing, musical instruments and other household appliances.

Champaign police spokeswoman Rebecca Hall said people in Canada, New Jersey, Florida, and Arkansas are believed to have purchased through the Internet the stolen property, which was shipped COD through a parcel service.


__________________________________________________ _________________________________ Eric hasn't received punishment for what he has done. I used to date Eric, while I was in Europe, he claimed our house was robbed and many of my possessions were stolen. He then committed insurance fraud to get money for the stolen items, I have reason to believe he sold my things, as I was to move out when I returned from my trip. He also opened credit cards and online accounts in my name so he could send himself money via moneygram, as he had my personal info, so ladies, watch out for this scam artist! There are probably many more people out there who have been scammed by Eric.

PLEASE CONTACT DEPUTY CHIEF TROY DANIELS AT THE CHAMPAIGN CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT IN ILLINOIS CONCERNING THE INSURANCE FRAUD AND THEFT AGAINST YOU THAT ERIC COMMITTED. MOST LIKELY TROY DANIELS WILL ONCE AGAIN MAKE A DEAL WITH ERIC BUT ONE DAY HIS POLICE DEPARTMENT WILL HAVE TO ANSWER TO THE VICTIMS AS TO WHY THEY ALLOWED THIS DIRTBAG TO REMAIN ON THE STREETS.

Deputy Chief Operational Support Troy Daniels 82 E. University Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 217/403-6909