Yakima – Today, James A. McDevitt, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Gary S. Harmas, age 55, of Walla Walla, Washington, was sentenced to 27 months in prison. He was ordered to report to a federal prison as directed by the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

In October 2007, Gary S. Harmas pleaded guilty to 12-countsof wire fraud in connection with a fraud scheme he perpetrated over the Internet. According to the plea agreement, beginning in October 2004, Harmas advertised American Eagle gold coins for sale on the “eBay” website. Harmas did not have an inventory of the gold coins he offered for sale and at times he offered coins for $20 to $30 less than what he could buy them from gold coin dealers. PayPal and eBay received 188 customer complaints for non-delivery, shut down his account in 2005, and sustained a loss of $267,615.

Gary S. Harmas was ordered to pay $310,733 in restitution to the victims of his scheme. He will remain under court supervision for 3-years after he is released from prison.

James A. McDevitt, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, said, “The number of fraudulent schemes perpetrated over the Internet are only limited by one’s imagination. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.”

This investigation was conducted by the FBI and was prosecuted by Aine Ahmed, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.