Local Man Sentenced For Participation In Used Textbook Scam

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051
 
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Jeffrey Tomasik, 34, of Hamburg, N.Y., who was convicted of mail fraud, was sentenced to two years probation by Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr. As part of his sentence, the judge also ordered the defendant to donate 200 books to a school in need in the City of buffalo. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth R. Moellering, who handled the case, stated that the defendant ran a used textbook scheme. Tomasik rented textbooks from Amazon and other companies and then sold the textbooks on eBay. When the rental contract on the textbooks expired, the defendant ignored collection notices. Tomasik also made it difficult for the companies to find him by using aliases. The defendant used at least 20 online accounts with different email addresses to perpetrate the fraud.

The defendant also entered into a sizeable contract to sell used textbooks to victims in California.  After receiving an approximately $50,000 down payment on the contract via PayPal, Tomasik allegedly sent a single textbook and removed his bank information from his PayPal account so that the victims could not recoup their money. 

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector-in-Charge Shelly Binkowski of the Boston Division.