Teenager Charged In Fraud Scheme Over The Internet

A 15-year-old boy has been charged in a bogus Internet merchandising scheme that authorities say brought him at least $10,000.

“He opened right up to us. He said, ‘Here, take my computer. Every time I get on it, I get into trouble’,” Jeff Robinson, an investigator for the Utah County prosecutor, said Tuesday.

The youth received at least $10,000 from up to 15 people around the country who responded to his Internet ads for low-cost computer-related items such as memory chips, authorities said.

Buyers received nothing, or packages containing worthless materials.

He was charged with seconddegree computer and credit card fraud and theft. Prosecutors planned to refer him to juvenile court. The Utah Division of Consumer Protection launched the investigation after receiving a complaint two weeks ago from a Wisconsin man who lost $450.