Former Security Officer Sentenced in Neiman Marcus, eBay Jewelry Scam

Posted from digidownload.org

The U.S. Department of Justice sentenced a former security officer from Neiman Marcus in Dallas to 27 months in prison, and ordered the man to pay $323,195 in restitution for transporting stolen jewelry across state lines. The Court found that losses to Neiman Marcus from the scam exceeded $400,000.

Manuel Alvarez, 37, was sentenced on April 2 in Texas. Alvarez pleaded guilty in December 2007 to stealing jewelry from Neiman's by using his security key to gain access to stock drawers and then using an accomplice to sell the goods on eBay.

Neiman Marcus vice president Gary Manson addressed the Court at sentencing to say that Alvarez had been a trusted member of the team, and that theft of property meant more than simply a financial loss to the company and its employees.

Alvarez worked at Neiman Marcus as a store loss prevention specialist and in 2004 he and an accomplice agreed to sell jewelry on eBay and split the proceeds. Alvarez would obtain jewelry from a Neiman Marcus store and then his accomplice would post the items for auction.

From February 29, 2004, to December 10, 2005, Alvarez made only three legitimate jewelry purchases, three watch straps, from Neiman Marcus using his employee discount. He also purchased three or four jewelry items, with a total value of approximately $4,000 from the Neiman Marcus catalog. All other jewelry items were stolen.

In June 2005, Alvarez approached a friend who lived in Houston and provided her items he had stolen from Neiman Marcus for her to sell on eBay. This accomplice photographed the items, placed them for auction, and mailed the items to purchasers using the U.S. Mail service.