A 63-year-old Texas woman was sentenced to 54 months in federal prison after she was found guilty of selling stolen goods on eBay for the past 20 years. The woman stole and sold millions of dollars of merchandise to buyers on the popular online marketplace.
Dallas-resident Kim Richardson was ordered to pay $3.8 million in restitution. The amount was determined following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service.
Attorney Ryan K. Patrick said investigators found that around $3.8 million of payments for the stolen goods were sent to four different PayPal addresses linked to Richardson.
Richardson went on shoplifting sprees in the U.S. She then went on eBay to sell the items. These were then mailed by U.S. mail, UPS or FedEx.
"Richardson stole items from numerous retail stores. She used shoplifting tools to disable security devices and would exit the store by placing the stolen merchandise in a large black bag she carried," investigators said.
Investigators said Richardson had a group to help her package and mail the stolen items. She assisted in mailing the items - but mostly worked on their "acquisition."
Richardson has also been sentenced to three years of supervised release after she serves her time, too, the court said. The court said it was now "virtually impossible" to track down and identify those who had bought the items.
Richardson was arrested by authorities last year. She pleaded guilty in December. She was allowed to remain free on bond before being asked to voluntarily surrender. The amount of the bond she was asked to pay was not disclosed. Richardson was then held at a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility while awaiting her sentencing.
