VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, [3], 4 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 22:33:14 05/19/04 Wed
Author: Zummo
Subject: Angry judge sentences man in Internet sales scam

Angry judge sentences man in Internet sales scam

John Stevenson : The Herald-Sun
May 19, 2004 : 10:16 pm ET

DURHAM -- A former Durham man lost his liberty for 10 days and his freedom to use computers for five years after he pleaded guilty Wednesday to swindling some 40 people out of more than $100,000 in a nationwide Internet sales scam involving sports memorabilia.

A plea bargain originally called for 29-year-old Shawn Gregory Abernathy, who now lives with his parents in Greensboro, to receive two days in jail and three years of supervised probation.

But Superior Court Judge Ron Stephens said the deal, struck between Abernathy and the district attorney's office, made him so angry he couldn't think clearly. He had Abernathy locked up in a detention cell for more than an hour while he cooled off.

Abernathy then was returned to the courtroom.

"I can't live with that," Stephens said of the proposed two days in jail. "He's going to have to do 10 days."

Stephens also increased the probationary period from three to five years, but even then, he questioned whether justice was being served.

"The fairness of this kind of stinks," he said.

Evidence indicated that Abernathy, who pursued a double major at UNC, solicited customers from all over the country to bid on sports memorabilia such as baseball cards and other collectibles. Abernathy received the money, but the customers got nothing in return, according to prosecutor Doretta Walker.

Defense lawyer Woody Vann said there was no excuse for Abernathy's conduct.

"He wrecked his life," Vann told The Herald-Sun.

The crimes came to light when Abernathy's cheated customers began complaining, Vann added. He said Abernathy made no attempt to conceal or alter his real identity on the Internet.

Judge Stephens said he would allow Abernathy to serve his 10-day jail sentence over five consecutive weekends, beginning June 4. He also ordered Abernathy to perform 100 hours of community service work and to repay his victims $106,555, on top of more than $70,000 in restitution he already has made.

Other probationary requirements forbid Abernathy to buy or sell anything on the Internet, to use a computer at home and to own or operate any business involving computers. However, he may use a computer for authorized purposes if he gets a job away from home.

Five suspended prison sentences of eight to 10 months each were left hanging over Abernathy's head. They could be activated if he violates the conditions of his probation.

Abernathy had chances in life that were unknown to most other criminal defendants, the judge said.

"They were almost expected to be here," Stephens said of other defendants. "And here you are, with a double major from UNC, with this Internet racket going on. We've agreed to send you to jail for 10 days. How fair is that? You've had opportunities others never had. You just blew it. You threw it away."

Stephens said Abernathy's reimbursement to his victims would be strictly monitored.

"Whatever it takes, you're going to have to sacrifice to do that," he warned. "You may have conned a lot of folks along the way, but don't try to con this court."

And even though he wasn't fully pleased with the outcome, Stephens said a plea bargain for Abernathy probably was more practical than a trial. A trial would have been prohibitively expensive, he said, since the victims would have been flown in from all over the country to testify.

Prosecutor Walker indicated that Abernathy still faces possible federal consequences. Without so-called "double jeopardy," suspects may be prosecuted for certain crimes in a state court and then tried again in federal court.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-8
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.