EBay conman takes £28,000 but only faces a fine of £1
Andrew Alden, the 27-year-old conman who duped eBay users out of almost £30,000, has been told that all he will have to pay back is the nominal sum of £1. Last November, Alden admitted to having fleeced 49 people for £28,967. He was able to pull off the scam by posting false advertisements on eBay for tickets to the rugby world cup.
As the fraud happened a year before the actual event, buyers did not realize that they had been scammed until it was too late. The buyer protection program offered by eBay is valid only for 45 days after the purchase.
A specially appointed investigator who looked in to Alden’s personal finances concluded that he had no bank accounts and that he relied mostly on benefits for his expenses.
The investigator also reported that he was unable to find any item that could have been bought using the stolen money. Alden supposedly had debts, but what actually happened to the money remains a mystery.
Alden, who is originally from York, but currently resides in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, has been on Jobseeker’s allowance since last year. Prior to that he had been a student for a while and had had various part-time jobs.
During the investigation, it was that his bank account was overdrawn and that he had no assets which the authorities could confiscate. However, Judge Ashurst, who presided over the case, mentioned that if it were to emerge that Alden had any hidden assets, they could be confiscated at that time.
With seven previous convictions to his name, Alden is no stranger to the courtroom. He pleaded guilty to all charges of deception that were brought against him and requested that 42 other such offences be taken into account. Investigators not only failed to seize Alden’s ill-gotten gains, but his lack of personal assets even saved him from paying the court costs of £364.
