Claudio Jean Negrea Claudio Jean Negrea, 42, has pleaded guilty on charges of two felonies and forgery of a driver’s license. He’s believed to have been involved with organized crime in Eastern Europe.

Police said Negrea had advertised two vehicles on the Internet that he didn’t own and didn’t intend to ship to buyers. Photographs of a recreational vehicle and a BMW sedan posted online and listed well below market value piqued the interest of buyers in Texas and Oklahoma.

Using e-mail messages, Negrea deflected requests to meet the customers in person to show them the vehicles. Nevertheless, the buyers agreed to wire money to what they thought was a legitimate escrow account, Detective Eric Buschow said.

Officials at the Bank of America at Avenida de Los Arboles near Erbes Road, which received both wire transfers, determined they were suspicious and called the police. The staff had noticed that a newly opened account received a total of $72,800 in wire transfers; Negrea then came in to make a withdrawal, Buschow said.

When Negrea was arrested on Nov. 9, he told investigators he was a Swedish national named Marvi Hult. Police allege Negrea has used several names and passports from different European countries while perpetrating crimes and say he’s connected to a larger group of organized criminals with ties to Eastern Europe.

Negrea 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 a car in person are red flags. A buyer should see and drive a car before buying it, Buschow said.

Escrow accounts, such as paypal.com, are routinely used in legitimate purchases to help protect buyers from fraud. But 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.

Negrea is being held in Ventura County Jail and will be sentenced on Feb. 10.

Prosecutor Howard Wise said the defendant could be facing 36 months in prison.