Internet scam traced to Thousand Oaks

Claudio Jean Negrea aka Marvi Hult Buying a car online without ever seeing it isn’t a good idea, even if the deal seems too good to pass up.

Especially if the deal seems too good to be true, said Thousand Oaks Police Detective Eric Buschow.

In order to purchase vehicles from someone they were told lived in Florida, individuals in Texas and Oklahoma wired money to what they thought was an escrow account, Buschow said.

Instead, they were wiring money to a bank in Thousand Oaks and the vehicles didn’t exist, the detective said.

The staff at Bank of America took notice when a man came into a branch here last month to close out a recently opened account after a large sum of money had been wired to it.

Thousand Oaks police were called and quickly responded to the Bank of America at Avenida de Los Arboles near Erbes Road.

There they found Claudio Jean Negrea, who was arrested Nov. 9 on several felony burglary and fraud charges.

Negrea, who allegedly told investigators he was a Swedish national named Marvi Hult, had advertised two vehicles on the Internet, authorities said.

Police said he had buyers interested in a recreational vehicle and a BMW sedan after he posted their photographs online.

Prices advertised online were well below market value, and although Negrea had deflected requests to meet the customers in person to show them the vehicles, the buyers agreed to wire money to what they thought was a legitimate escrow account, Buschow said.

“Fortunately, officials at a local bank in Thousand Oaks determined the wire transfers were suspicious,” Buschow said.

According to Buschow, Negrea never owned the advertised vehicles and had no intention of shipping anything to the two buyers.

“The two customers had paid Negrea a combined total of $72,800,” Buschow said.

Negrea was arrested in Beverly Hills in July and charged with a similar activity, according to a police report.

Police allege Negrea has used several names and passports from different European countries while perpetrating the crimes and say he’s connected to a larger group of organized criminals with ties to Eastern Europe.

Negrea is currently in custody at the Todd Road Jail in Santa Paula in lieu of $250,000 bail.

He advertised vehicles using legitimate Internet sites such as cars.com, autotrader.com and ebay.com, Buschow said.

“Many successful transactions occur on a daily basis using these Internet sites,” he said.

Prices that are too good to be true or a seller who is unwilling to show the car in person are red flags to beware of.

“Who would buy a car they haven’t seen? You want to see it and drive it before you buy it,” Buschow said.

As for escrow accounts, they are routinely used in legitimate purchases to help protect buyers from fraud. Customers need to be aware that someone can direct them to a bogus website that appears to be legitimate, but instead of protecting them, the website actually sends the money directly to the seller’s bank account.

“In order to avoid being the victim of this type of crime, people should type in website information themselves, rather than use a link provided by the seller,” Buschow said.

The best way to avoid fraud is to meet the seller in person and examine the car. The parties can then engage in an appropriate transaction directly through a bank to help ensure that no one becomes the victim of fraud, the detective said.