Local victim helps uncover Internet scam
A complaint from a Hawthorn Woods man who spent $2,800 for nonexistent Rose Bowl tickets has led police and federal investigators to uncover an international Internet scam, authorities said Thursday.
Since the investigation, which was launched in December 2005, hundreds of victims have been discovered, police said. No charges have been filed, but authorities seized about $1.5 million and are reimbursing victims cheated by the swindlers.
"The important thing is that we were able to return money to a number of victims," said Cpl. Trinidad Navarro, spokesman for the New Castle County, Del., police department, the agency that initiated the probe.
The U.S. attorney's office in Delaware, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Secret Service assisted in the case.
The inquiry began when a Hawthorn Woods man called New Castle County police to report Internet fraud. Police did not want to identify the victim, and he did not response to a request for an interview.
The victim said he tried to purchase tickets for the 2006 Rose Bowl game from a Web site that, at the time, had a business address in Wilmington, police said. The site no longer exists.
The victim said he wired $2,800 to a Delaware bank account in the name of UniClear Card Services, which also had a Wilmington address. The tickets never arrived.
Upon investigating, New Castle police discovered more victims and froze the UniClear bank account, which contained about $2.9 million. The company is based in Canada, police said.
Continued investigation turned up hundreds of victims from around the world who had lost money in various online scams involving UniClear, police said.
Federal investigators joined the case in January 2006. That May, the U.S. attorney seized the money in the UniClear bank account, police said.
New Castle County police Col. Rick Gregory called the case one of the largest fraud investigations in the department's history.
Because of the anticipated difficulty involved in finding and prosecuting suspects living outside the United States, the U.S. attorney's office struck a deal with UniClear calling for the firm to surrender $1.5 million, Navarro said.
Some of that money has been used to compensate the fraud victims. About $100,000 has been set aside for additional victims who haven't yet come forward, Navarro said.
The law-enforcement agencies that investigated the case each received proceeds, too, officials said.
Navarro praised the Hawthorn Woods victim for pursing the matter with his department.
"It was unfortunate that he was a victim," Navarro said. "Fortunately, he had the foresight to not give up and to seek out the authorities."
If you were victimized by UniClear Card Services, authorities say you can call the U.S. attorney's office in Wilmington, Del., at (302) 573-6277 or toll-free at (888) 293-8162.