Feds Arrest Virginia Woman for Unique Million-Dollar Handbag Scheme

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip, ArlNow: Morning Notes

Feds Arrest Virginia Woman for Unique Million-Dollar Handbag Scheme

By Mike Levine

May 27, 2016, 9:12 AM ET

Federal authorities arrested a Virginia woman on Thursday for a unique handbag-related scheme that targeted several major department stores and involved brands such as Gucci, Burberry and Fendi.

The scheme was so prolific that at one point she was a major department store’s top online customer in the entire world, an agent from Homeland Security Investigations says in court documents.

For years, Praepitcha Smatsorabudh would allegedly buy high-end handbags – many costing more than $2,000 apiece – from department stores online. She would then allegedly return the bags and receive refunds in-person at stores across the country. But what she really was returning were fake handbags that she ordered from suppliers in China and Hong Kong, according to federal authorities.

Smatsorabudh would then sell the authentic, high-end handbags to unwitting customers online, usually through eBay or an Instagram account, federal authorities say.

[tonyt53]

1. I never understood the fascination with those things or why they have names. They are purses.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Me either.

I might be willing to pay a little more for one that's sturdy and well-made, but I've never understood why anyone would pay big bucks just for a brand name (that goes for all products). I guess there's no sucker like a rich sucker.

[Stonepounder]

4. Conspicuous consumption.

Women buy obscenely expensive handbags just to prove to the world that have that much disposable income available to them. Men do the same thing, but with ridiculously expensive cars and watches and yachts and so on. Its sort of an in-your-face sort of thing.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. And most of us peons wouldn't recognize a $2,000 handbag

if we were whacked across the face with it. They must be doing it to impress each other, not us little people, since we wouldn't discern the difference between a Hermes Birkin purse (I had to look that up) and one from Target.

[Uben]

2. Hope she gets a 20 yr vacation at Club Fed

....aka federal prison facility. Why do these idiots think they can get away with shit like this? You will go to prison! Scammers always lose. Sooner or later they get so greedy, they'll try anything to scam someone out of their money. People like this don't deserve one iota of mercy. Give them the maximum sentence in the worst penal facility. They had no remorse in taking others' money, so I have zero remorse in throwing them in prison for the rest of their miserable lives!