I thought I'd give yaw'll a firsthand look at EBay book fraud and its persecution. A few years ago (about 3 years, I think) I bought a "signed" first edition copy of Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions. I do not remember what I paid for it but I assume it was not cheap. When it arrived, I checked the signature (I have many other signed Vonneguts from Franklin & Easton Press so had a good signature to compare it to.) Six or eight months later I received an email from the U. S. Department of Justice telling me that I was part of a case of a fellow who was charged with selling books with fake signature on EBay. They told me his name, FORREST SMITH, but not which book he had sold me. I asked very nicely but could not get the info from them. I was left looking at my bookshelves wondering which of my precious books it could be. I had never had much luck calling EBay but thought I'd give it a try. The man I spoke with at EBay started out giving me a run around but eventually cooperated and gave me the name of the book in the one transaction I had with Forrest Smith - Breakfast of Champions. Needless to say I was very disappointed (in part) but another part of me was relieved to have that resolved and my relationship with my collection rejuvenated. I received emails from the Department of justice every few months as the cheat went to court, was tried and sentenced to prison. He spent the last couple of years in jail and I just heard from them today telling me he is to be released to a "half way house" and will be there until November 13th. After that date he will be released with no parole. During the court case, I was always notified when he was due in court - time, date and location. I have never posted about this before because I find the whole affair to be a bit embarrassing...
Today's email told me, "This notice is to inform you that FORREST SMITH has been approved for placement in a Community Corrections Center (CCC), otherwise known as a halfway house, and will transfer from this institution on May 18, 2011. After the transfer, the inmate will be located at CAPITOL PAVILION COMM CORR CTR in HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania."
Apparently he sold many books on EBay along with a female partner. He will have spent about 2 1/2 years in jail. I have no idea how many other fraudulent sellers there are on EBay but it feels pretty good to see this one prosecuted. EBay and other online resources can be very handy but we should all keep in mind that we could be buying fakes.
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