YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: A year to the day that detectives arrested him, a 49-year-old father of nine — and grandfather of seven — was sentenced in Hackensack today to three years in state prison for buying $275,000 worth of stolen coffee makers and other appliances that he resold on eBay, Amazon and elsewhere.
Abraham Baruchov, of Clifton, took a plea in December under which he agreed to repay JC Penney for the stolen products. State authorities previously seized $223,000 in cash and bank accounts that will go toward that amount, acting state Attorney General John J. Hoffman said.
In return for his plea, state prosecutors dropped fencing charges against his wife.
Baruchov, who sobbed and covered his face with his hand to avoid being photographed, asked Presiding Superior Court Judge Liliana DeAvila-Silebi: “Have mercy on me, and sentence me for the minimum that can be done.”
Bergen County Sheriff’s officers later handcuffed him and brought him to the Bergen County Jail, where he was being held this evening.
Under state parole guidelines, Baruchov could be released before this Thanksgiving.
Baruchov two months ago admitted receiving the more than 1,400 items of merchandise from January 2013 through February 2014 that others bought online with bogus credit cards from a wholesaler who has since vanished.
These included Keurig and Cuisinart coffee makers that were shipped by JC Penney “to addresses used by Baruchov” or “directly to his online customers,” Hoffman said.
JC Penney referred the case to the Division of Criminal Justice after its investigators traced stolen goods to Baruchov, he said.
“The huge volume of online commerce being conducted by major retailers and by individuals who use consumer-to-consumer services has spawned a new breed of criminals who capitalize on the anonymity of the Internet,” Hoffman said. “Baruchov was selling stolen appliances to purchasers he never met, in some cases without ever laying his hands on the merchandise.”
DCJ detectives arrested Baruchov a year ago today on charges including receiving stolen property, fencing and money laundering.
The lead investigator was Detective Abraham Aquino of the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau. Deputy Attorneys General Janet R. Bosi and Naju Lathia prosecuted the case and took the guilty plea today for the Division of Criminal Justice.
“If you encounter someone selling brand new products on the Internet at well below market prices, that should raise a red flag,” Division of Criminal Justice Director Elie Honig said.
PHOTOS: CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter Mary K. Miraglia
