Opinion ID: 2973391
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: facts

Text: In January 2002, Katzopoulos operated a business named the Surplus of Nashville which offered merchandise such as computers, cameras and electronic devices for sale through internet auction sites and booths at tradeshows. The ten named customers in the indictment were persons who were the highest bidders for particular merchandise. They were informed by Surplus of Nashville employees that their bids were accepted. The winning bidders would submit their payments to Appellant through one of three means, i.e., internet based payment, personal checks or telephone credit card transactions. After their payments were received, the customers were informed that their merchandise would ship from a warehouse in Nashville in approximately four to six weeks. The winning bidders never received their merchandise or a refund. Employees of Surplus of Nashville were unaware of Katzopoulos’ scheme, though there were suspicions. Whenever questions arose, Katzopoulos provided answers that would assuage their concerns. In February of 2002, postal authorities began investigating the Surplus of Nashville. In late March, a search warrant was executed at Katzopoulos’ recently abandoned apartment. As a result of the search, over a hundred and fifty refund checks drawn from two separate bank accounts were seized. Three months later, Katzopoulos was indicted on five counts of mail fraud and five counts of wire fraud. The indictment alleged that the Defendant had collected payments totaling $273,030.60 from approximately one hundred and thirty-eight customers from his scheme to defraud.