A Bulgarian man appeared in federal court in DC on Tuesday to face charges related to his alleged role in managing a money laundering network for a transnational criminal group based in Eastern Europe. According to the indictment, he allegedly participated in a scheme that operated from July 2005 through May 2006 that involved the posting of advertisements on eBay and other websites, fraudulently offering expensive vehicles and boats for sale that the conspirators did not possess.

The indictment alleges that when the U.S. victims expressed interest in the merchandise, they were contacted directly by an email from the purported seller. According to the indictment, the victims allegedly were then instructed to wire transfer payments through "eBay Secure Traders" - an entity which has no actual affiliation to eBay but was used as a ruse to persuade the victims that they were sending money into a secure escrow account pending delivery and inspection of their purchases. Instead, the victims' funds allegedly were wired directly into bank accounts in Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland that were controlled by co-conspirators.

According to court documents, in less than one year, the criminal conspiracy allegedly netted nearly $1 million from U.S. victims.