Crime pays, for a while –

Dec. 16, 2020 – The defendants “specifically recruit boosters who are opioid addicts and who use the proceeds of their ‘sales’ to purchase illegal drugs,” IRS special agent Giulio Scoccia wrote in each criminal complaint. “This easy access to cash has increased the demand for and use of opioids in the community, thereby fueling the current opioid crisis.” In many instances, Tribunella and Shadders provided lists of desirable items to boosters, or people recruited to steal for the scheme, Scoccia wrote. 

The 36-page criminal complaint affidavit filed against Tribunella and Shadders outlined the tactics they allegedly employed to profit, and the lengths to which they went to sell high-demand, still-in-package items on eBay. 

Tribunella is charged charged with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, selling and conspiring to sell stolen goods across state lines, and engaging in financial transactions involving the proceeds of the operation in November 2019.

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