Authorities Crack Glass Shill-Bidding Ring on eBay

Federal prosecutors have charged three people with running a shill bidding ring on eBay. The complaint alleges that the three boosted bids on highly collectible Rene Lalique glass that was up for auction on eBay and involved over $1.3 million in high bids.

Shill bidding occurs when sellers or their accomplices bid on their own merchandise. This gives auctions the appearance of activity and raises the final price for the unsuspecting winning bidder.

The complaint alleges that the eBay ID "norsepottery" was used, and that two accomplices acted as shill bidders for the seller. When AuctionBytes checked the suspected ID, "norsepottery" has been tagged as "Not a Registered User" (NARU) on eBay. Two other IDs, "rlalique" and "laliquebuyer," had also been NARU'd.

The three suspects were arrested on Wednesday, and each was charged with wire fraud. If convicted, they could face a maximum five-year prison term.

Last year, three men were charged with shill bidding on eBay in a high profile case in which a legitimate Dutch user bid $135,000 for a fake Richard Diebenkorn painting. This was thought to have been the first criminal case to result from alleged shill bidding online.