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State prosecutors have charged an Uzbekistan couple in connection with an Internet auction site scam in Naples involving more than 500 victims nationwide and in Canada who were allegedly bilked out of more than $100,000.
Detectives also have seized $7,000 from two bank accounts that the couple, Alisher Mardonov, 34; and Shahnoza Khakimova, 31, had in Naples, said Stephanie Spell, a spokeswoman for the Collier County Sheriff's Office.
Each is charged with a scheme to defraud, a first-degree felony carrying a maximum 30-year prison sentence, Assistant State Attorney Jerry Brock said.
The two are accused of separating their victims from more than $100,000, said Brock, who prosecutes economic crimes in Naples.
Mardonov and Khakimova are believed to have fled the United States for Kazan in Tatarstan, an area between Moscow and the Ural Mountains in Russia, Spell said.
"I'd say that would go a long way," Brock said. He said the average wage in that part of the world is about $125 per year.
More than 500 victims are involved, Brock said.
"We have victims and witnesses from all over the United States and Canada," he said.
Sheriff's detectives in December said they started receiving phone calls from people who claimed they were scammed while making purchases on , an Internet auction site.
The people said they bought electronics equipment such as cameras and iPods on from a seller known as Alisher71.
Buyers said they paid the money but never received the merchandise, detectives said.
Investigators said the scam's trail led them to the couple, who managed to flee before they could be arrested.
Brock said the state attorney's office is working with Secret Service and FBI agents to try and find the couple and bring them back to Collier County to face their charges.
Mardonov and Khakimova are also each wanted in Lee County on warrants accusing them of failing to appear in court on grand theft charges.
They were charged last year with stealing electronic equipment from a Wal-Mart store, Brock said.
"They were charged with stealing the same type of equipment they were offering for sale," he said.
Узбеки рулят
Detectives also have seized $7,000 from two bank accounts that the couple, Alisher Mardonov, 34; and Shahnoza Khakimova, 31, had in Naples, said Stephanie Spell, a spokeswoman for the Collier County Sheriff's Office.
Each is charged with a scheme to defraud, a first-degree felony carrying a maximum 30-year prison sentence, Assistant State Attorney Jerry Brock said.
The two are accused of separating their victims from more than $100,000, said Brock, who prosecutes economic crimes in Naples.
Mardonov and Khakimova are believed to have fled the United States for Kazan in Tatarstan, an area between Moscow and the Ural Mountains in Russia, Spell said.
"I'd say that would go a long way," Brock said. He said the average wage in that part of the world is about $125 per year.
More than 500 victims are involved, Brock said.
"We have victims and witnesses from all over the United States and Canada," he said.
Sheriff's detectives in December said they started receiving phone calls from people who claimed they were scammed while making purchases on , an Internet auction site.
The people said they bought electronics equipment such as cameras and iPods on from a seller known as Alisher71.
Buyers said they paid the money but never received the merchandise, detectives said.
Investigators said the scam's trail led them to the couple, who managed to flee before they could be arrested.
Brock said the state attorney's office is working with Secret Service and FBI agents to try and find the couple and bring them back to Collier County to face their charges.
Mardonov and Khakimova are also each wanted in Lee County on warrants accusing them of failing to appear in court on grand theft charges.
They were charged last year with stealing electronic equipment from a Wal-Mart store, Brock said.
"They were charged with stealing the same type of equipment they were offering for sale," he said.
Узбеки рулят