Bergen Man Accused of ID Theft, Selling Fake Items on eBay

(Editor's note: one name was removed from this article as their record was expunged.)

A Paramus couple has been accused of using false names to sell counterfeit items like sports memorabilia, trading cards and rare gold coins through eBay, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said Monday.

Andrew Mei, 34, and (removed) have each been charged one count of theft by deception, impersonation and computer related theft, all second-degree crimes.

The arrests are a result of an investigation by the Newark Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Services that revealed Mei was using a false identity to facilitate counterfeit sales through eBay from as early as 2008, the prosecutor's office said.

Mei purchased authentic trading cards on eBay, replicated them and then sold counterfeit replicas of them on the website, the prosecutor's office said. The investigation also revealed Mei conducted the fraudulent transactions under his own name as well as other variations of it, the prosecutor's office said.

EBay discovered Mei's fraudulent accounts and shut them down in 2012, the prosecutor's office said. However, Mei established new eBay and PayPal accounts in March 2013 using a stolen identity belonging to a victim in California, the prosecutor's office said.

Mei then continued the fraudulent activity under the false identity, the prosecutor's office said. The Professional Sports Authenticator also confirmed the items Mei sold were counterfeit, the prosecutor's office said.

Bank accounts and credit cards belonging to (removed) facilitated the fraudulent eBay and PayPal transactions, the prosecutor's office said.

Mei has been remanded to the Bergen County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bail with no 10 percent option.