Eastern Shore Resident Sentenced To 66 Months In Federal Prison For Conspiring To Sell More Than $3.5M In Stolen Goods & Tax Fraud

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A U.S. District Judge sentenced 36-year-old Saurabh Chawla, of Aurora, Colorado to 66 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised merchandise on federal charges of conspiracy, interstate proscription of stolen goods and tax evasion.

According to his blameworthy plea and different tribunal documents, from 2009 done 2019, Chawla purchased implicit $3.5 million of stolen goods from individuals with “insider” access to the goods and merchandise, successful bid to bargain the items and sell them to Chawla without detection.

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Chawla initially sold goods and merchandise connected eBay done the stores thecheetahexpress, eurotronics_4_less, and eurotronics-4-less. On astir April 27, 2014, eBay suspended the thecheetahexpress and eurotronics_4_less stores from operating connected eBay due to the fact that “recent relationship enactment has raised superior information concerns.”

“Saurabh Chawla coordinated a $3.5 million scheme – purchasing items from co-conspirators that helium knew had been stolen, including electronics that were intended to help underprivileged New Mexico schoolhouse children, and selling them for his idiosyncratic gain,” said Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner.

“When criminals similar Chawla traffic stolen goods and willfully underreport their income to evade taxes, we each lose,” said Darrell J. Waldon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-CI Washington D.C. Field Office.

Chawla besides convinced James Bender, who was a bully person from college, to allow him to sell goods and merchandise online done eBay accounts Bender controlled in exchange for Chawla paying Bender a commission.

Over time, Chawla offered and sold a ample fig of stolen goods and merchandise for sale done HGF, different eBay stores, and different online marketplaces. At 1 point, Chawla had 400 progressive listings for goods and products connected eBay.

The plea statement besides states that Chawla purchased Apple products from Kristy Stock from 2012 to 2018. Stock was a New Mexico nationalist schoolhouse worker responsible for overseeing a program to provide Apple iPods to schoolhouse children with the extremity to benefit underprivileged Native American children in New Mexico.  Stock stole more than 3,000 iPods purchased by the schoolhouse territory and sold them to Chawla.

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Chawla initially purchased the iPods from Stock connected eBay and they aboriginal communicated done emails, texts and telephone calls. Stock repeatedly advised Chawla of the items she had obtained providing details specified arsenic the model, colour and fig of Apple products available

Stock admitted that she received more than $800,000 in illegal proceeds from selling stolen iPods worth more than $1 million.

From 2009 done 2019 Chawla besides purchased ample quantities of goods from former FedEx worker Joseph Kukta, who obtained astir of the items helium sold to Chawla from bulk purchases shipped by FedEx and intended for delivery to FedEx customers. Kukta was capable to steal the goods in specified a mode that FedEx ne'er detected the crime. He past delivered the stolen goods and merchandise to a comparative of Chawla Maryland.

In total, Chawla paid Kukta more than $1.5 million for goods and merchandise that Chawla resold for more than $3 million.

Chawla and Bender repeatedly deceived online platforms specified arsenic Amazon, eBay, arsenic good arsenic the manufacturers and distributors, arsenic to the root of the goods and merchandise being sold, including the iPods that Stock stole from the New Mexico schoolhouse territory and goods and merchandise that Kukta stole from the Delaware FedEx facility.

Chawla aboriginal admitted in his plea statement that helium filed false tax returns for the tax years 2009 done 2017, falsely inflating the outgo of goods sold and expenses for his businesses and underreported his adjusted gross income and tax due.  As a result, Chawla agreed that helium failed to pay astatine slightest $640,000 in additional taxes due for tax years 2009 to 2017.

In total, Chawla caused a tax loss of more than $700,000 to the United States relating to the income of Chawla and his relative.

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His co-conspirators person pleaded blameworthy and are awaiting sentencing.