Man charged in ink cartridge scam
A Buffalo Grove resident
was charged with mail fraud, computer fraud, theft and wire fraud, all
felony counts, for a scheme in which stolen ink cartridges for computer
printers were sold on the Internet via eBay.
Peter S. Fu, 30, of 162 S. Buffalo Grove Road, Unit 1C, was arrested
Aug. 29 as a result of a three-month investigation by United States
Postal Inspectors, investigators from Target Corp. and the Buffalo
Grove Police Department.
Fu, police said, bought ink cartridges from numerous department stores
in the Chicago suburbs and in Indiana and Iowa. Investigators accuse
him of removing the cartridges from their packaging and putting
folded-up cardboard and envelopes in the package to replace them.
Police officials said he then would reseal the packages and return them
to Target for a refund.
Fu sold the ink cartridges he had kept on eBay. Authorities said he
bought $3,400 worth of Hewlett-Packard ink cartridges between May and
August.
Store employees noticed the switch when legitimate customers began
returning packages of ink cartridges that contained only cardboard,
police officials said. Investigators then searched the eBay
transactions and found an individual selling cartridges online at a 20
percent discount. The seller was identified as Fu, police said.
Fu, who has no criminal history, was released on a $50,000 recognizance bond and is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 6.