Legal Issues

Woman Jailed For Money Laundering, Reselling Stolen Goods on eBay

Woman Jailed For Money Laundering, Reselling Stolen Goods on eBay

A Massachusetts woman will go to federal prison for 18 months after running an eBay reselling scheme involving stolen goods.

According to an official release from the IRS, Mimi Mai, of Springfield, Mass., was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni. In addition to the year-and-a-half she will spend behind bars, Mai was ordered to subsequently serve two years of supervised release. 

Mai is also required to pay $3,472 in restitution and to forfeit $1.5 million to the U.S. government.

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Credit: Joe_Potato/Getty Images

Last December, Mai pleaded guilty to a single count of interstate transportation of stolen goods, four counts of money laundering, and two counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. All of the crimes involve a scheme she ran out of her Holyoke, Mass. pawn shop, EZ Exchange.

Mai's criminal activity began when she started purchasing knowingly stolen goods from various individuals at a low price. She then resold the products on eBay at a large markup. Among the stolen wares were household items of all kinds, power tools, electronics, sunglasses, and beauty and personal care items. From 2018 through 2021, Mai earned more than $2.1 million from the illegal sale of stolen goods listed as "New" on her eBay storefront.

Mai purchased vacation property in Florida with her earnings.

It is not known where Mai will serve her prison sentence.

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Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The IRS - Criminal Investigation division has recently cracked down on situations like Mai's. In November 2022, authorities arrested a Pennsylvania man for a similar scheme in which he sold goods shoplifted by local drug addicts on the Amazon marketplace. 

In another case earlier this year, five members of the same family were sentenced to prison for a $50 million scam involving the online sale of counterfeit Apple and Samsung cell phones.

What do you think about this case?

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Feature Image Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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Rebekah Barton

Rebekah Barton

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