Queens Woman Arrested in eBay Shoe Scam

Ray worked for shoe distributor, sold almost $12k of company’s shoes through an eBay account

MINEOLA, NY – A Queens woman who works in customer service at a Great Neck shoe distributor has been arrested and charged with selling nearly $12,000 of company shoes on the online marketplace eBay, according to Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice. The distributor, Jimlar Corporation, is a retailer and wholesaler of Calvin Klein, Coach and other high-end shoe brands.

Rice said that investigators from her office have arrested Darsheena Ray, 34, of South Ozone Park. Ray has been charged with Grand Larceny in the Third Degree.  She is scheduled to be arraigned later today in First District Court, Hempstead.  She faces a maximum of seven years in prison if convicted of the charge.

Rice said that an internal investigation at Jimlar began in February, when a customer service colleague of Ray’s received a phone call from a customer wishing to return a pair of shoes. The employee searched the company’s computer system for the purchase and was unable to find any record of payment. The customer informed the employee that she had the warehouse paperwork confirming shipment from Jimlar. She also said that she used the online payment Web site PayPal to pay for the shoes. The customer then told the employee that she purchased the shoes through the online marketplace eBay. Jimlar does not sell shoes on eBay and they do not take payments through PayPal.

That same day, a second call from a customer wanting a return was received by one of Ray’s colleagues in the customer service department of Jimlar.  The customer offered a similar story and again the Jimlar representative was unable to locate any payment to the company. The two calls triggered suspicion by Ray’s colleagues and the matter became the subject of an internal review by a vice president of the corporation. The case was then referred to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.

Rice said that investigators have identified 30 instances between November 2008 and February 2009 in which Ray used eBay and PayPal to sell shoes belonging to Jimlar. The retail value of these 30 pairs of shoes is $11,770.

Handling the case for the DA’s Office is Assistant District Attorney Megan Gallagher of the DA’s Government & Consumer Frauds Bureau.

The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.