An Ohio grand jury has indicted three men in what has been described as the biggest case of domestic fraud in the history of eBay.
Clifton Panezich, 30, who is from Austintown, OH but has been living in Las Vegas, is accused of being the ringleader of the group. He is now facing fraud and forgery charges, according to reports by Youngstown TV stations.
Craig McCormick, 33, of Girard, OH and Jason Moore, 30, of West Farmington, were also indicted.
The three had all agreed to guilty pleas earlier this summer but later changed their minds.
Five men and Panezich’s mother have already pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme that prosecutors claim cheated 25,000 people out of more than $2 million through the sale of forged sports autographs. The items were sold online, complete with phony certificates of authenticity. Those six people had lesser roles in the scheme, according to investigators.
The three men indicted Thursday are now facing charges of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, aggravated theft, telecommunications fraud, forgery, identity fraud, and money laundering.
Moore is also charged with one count of grand theft, according to WFMJ-TV.
While Panezich’s mother is being allowed to serve her probation and one year electronically monitored house arrest at her home near Las Vegas, a judge denied the former college baseball player’s request to return there until his trial.
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