By Jeff Lipton
Authorities arrested the suspects, identified by police as Bonnie Price-Linden, 58, and Lawrence Siegel, 60, both of 1226 West Broadway in Hewlett, and Alex Greenberg, 46, of 1930-37 Sunrise Highway in Merrick, at 9 a.m. on Dec. 11, officials said. Investigators executed search warrants at the two locations, seizing computer records and other business documents, officials said.
The alleged scam snared at least seven victims, none locally, said Detective Sgt. John Azzata of the Fourth Squad, which led the investigation. The victims live in Washington state, Ohio, Texas and Florida, Azzata said.
Azzata said the case came to the attention of the Fourth Squad in Hewlett around November 2002, when detectives here were notified by the Indian Hill Police Department in Ohio about a larceny that occurred through the use of eBay involving the sale of vehicles. Detective John McGee of the Fourth Squad was put on the case, "and he did an excellent job with it," said Azzata.
According to Azzata, the suspects advertised the sale of Mercedes-Benzes, such as the $200,000 Maybach, on eBay and convinced victims to send them deposits of $5,000 to $10,000 on these vehicles.
"These cars are so hard to come by," said Azzata at a press conference at Nassau County police headquarters on Dec. 12. "These are cars that you can't get around here, which is why you would go to eBay for them."
After receiving the deposits, the suspects would broker deals with a car dealership in New Jersey, which had no knowledge of the alleged scam, Azzata said. The suspects sent the dealership a portion of the deposits and the dealer would send paperwork to the suspects and put in an order for a new car. After months would pass and the victims failed to receive their vehicles, they canceled their purchases and the suspects, in turn, canceled the order with the dealership, which then sent back the deposit to the suspects, who refused to return the money to the victims. "The money never got back to the victims," Azzata said.
"Detective John McGee was the lead investigator on the case," Azzata said. "He did a magnificent job. Out of the blue, he cold-called victims on eBay and found seven, some who didn't want to get involved. They were so well off that they were not concerned about losing any money."
Investigators believe the suspects never intended to produce the cars in the first place and were set on keeping the deposits all along. They were each charged with seven counts of grand larceny, first-degree scheming to defraud and first-degree falsifying of business records, officials said. The three suspects were arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead on Dec. 12. They were being held at Nassau County jail in lieu of $3,000 bail. The suspects would not return phone calls for comment.
The West Broadway address was used as a home/office by Linden and Siegel, "who have a personal relationship," Azzata said. The two met Greenberg on the Internet, and the three allegedly hatched the scheme together, officials said.
"They acted as brokers, and apparently what brokers do is to work with dealers all over the country to broker cars on their behalf," Azzata said.
He cautioned residents that whenever they deal with a business on the Internet, they should check with the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Affairs to determine whether the business has any complaints lodged against it. "You should know who you are dealing with," Azzata said.
He urged anyone who may have been a victim of the alleged eBay scam to call detectives at (516) 573-6452. In the meantime, Azzata said, eBay will shut down the suspect's user name, AG19, which the suspects used to make transaction.
Linden, a former psychologist from Atlantic Beach, was convicted in October 2000 of the aggravated harassment of a Suffolk County judge, who lives in Woodsburgh and whom she used to date. She was found guilty of repeatedly calling the judge in his chambers in 1997 after he allegedly ended to their relationship.
