Austinite sentenced in Craigslist fraud

AUSTIN (AP) - Authorities say Andrei Daniel Avram made more than $150,000 selling cars and other merchandise online over six months last year.

One problem for his customers: Avram never delivered.

In March, the 27-year-old Romanian citizen living in Austin pleaded guilty to five counts of conspiracy, fraud and forgery. Prosecutors dropped 28 other counts. On Friday, Avram was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison and was ordered to pay $150,105 in restitution to 51 victims.

Authorities say Avram asked buyers he usually found through Craigslist and eBay to wire money, which he would pick up in cash from H-E-B supermarkets across Texas. Using phony passports with different assumed names, Avram wired the money in batches of less than $3,000 to Romania and Bulgaria.