The FBI said it arrested a Michigan man wanted for eBay fraud involving Wee Forest Folk collectible figurines. Stewart Carlyle Richardson was arrested - three years after a warrant was issued for his arrest - on October 22, 2005, in a motel room in Pico Rivera, California, the FBI said. Richardson co-owned two retail stores selling the figurines and also sold them on eBay.

Richardson was wanted out of Michigan on a criminal complaint and Federal arrest warrant filed February 27, 2002, in the Eastern District of Michigan, Detroit, Michigan, charging him with wire fraud which is a violation of Title 18, Section 1343.

The FBI statement said that although Richardson had been holding successful auctions for several years, an investigation revealed that an Internet auction held between December 25, 2001, and January 4, 2002, was allegedly a fraudulent one.

"Richardson advertised that the auction would include a number of items, which it was later discovered, he did not have in his inventory to sell. On January 17, 2002, after receiving payment for the items sold during the auction, Richardson allegedly withdrew a large sum of money from his bank account and fled the area. Approximately 100 individuals were victims of this fraud after they paid for items which were never delivered to them."

The FBI statement said Richardson had an initial appearance before a Federal magistrate on October 25, 2005, in California, and waived extradition. He will be returned to Michigan at a later time to answer the charges against him.

Related Article from February 2002
"Elusive Figures: An eBay Merchant Disappears, Failing To Deliver the Goods," By Nick Wingfield, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal, 2/22/02
http://digbig.com/4fcsj