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NEW CANAAN, Conn. — Four New Canaan teenagers have been charged in an eBay scheme in which they had people bid on an item but then sold only its user guide, Sgt. Carol Ogrinc said.
The four suspects, three of whom are now 14 and one of whom is now 15, are suspected of creating an ebay account in October and listing items such as laptops and flatscreen televisions with descriptions and photos, Ogrinc said. However, the word “guide” would appear in the description, she said. People would bid on the items and then receive the user guide for the item, she said.
The suspects' PayPal account contained up to $4,500 until they closed it in December, Ogrinc said.
A person in California who bought a guide reported the scheme to authorities, and the account was traced back to New Canaan, the sergeant said. It is not illegal to list guides, but the ads were misleading and the suspects knew they were misleading victims, she said.
Each was charged with attempted third-degree larceny, and conspiracy to commit third-degree larceny, Ogrinc said. They were scheduled to appear in Stamford Juvenile Court on Tuesday.
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