A Roswell man pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to selling millions of dollars’ worth in stolen merchandise across state lines from an eBay online store, court officials said.
Robert A. Hill, 51, bought high-dollar electronics and other items, such as golf clubs, tools, iPhones, computers, video gaming systems and iPads, at 60 percent of their retail value from co-conspirators who obtained the items using identity fraud, prosecutors said.
Hill pleaded guilty to interstate transportation of stolen property, according to court records.
Hill’s cohorts used fake drivers’ licenses to get credit cards or to take over accounts at major retail stores like Home Depot, Target, Best Buy, Walmart, Lowe’s, Sam’s Club and Dick’s Sporting Goods, authorities said.
Over 10 years, ending in 2011, prosecutors said Hill sold more than $9 million in merchandise through his eBay store called atlantis_discount_warehouse_llc, and he knowingly did business with the fraudsters, often giving them lists of items he needed for his store, prosecutors said.
He stored the merchandise in ready-to-ship containers at his Alpharetta storage facility, and would ship items he’d sell at just below retail price to customers across the country, authorities said.
Federal agents executing a search warrant of the storage unit found a large number of high-value electronic items and more than $44,000 in cash, court officials said.
Hill faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The court also has added a provision to potential sentencing that Hill forfeit more than $44,000 in cash, the contents of a pair of bank accounts valued at more than $47,000, a 1999 Lexus RS 300, and thousands of dollars worth of electronics and jewelry.
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