Pittsburgh Man Charged with Using Craigslist to Find Victims to Defraud

PITTSBURGH—A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of wire fraud, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

The four-count indictment named Jesse James Gasior, 25, of 146 Newburn Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the sole defendant.

According to the indictment, Gasior used craigslist.com to find persons who were trying to buy tickets for concerts or sporting events. Gasior defrauded many of these persons through a wire fraud scheme that involved making contact with the prospective ticket buyers over the telephone or by e-mail when, in fact, he had no tickets to sell to the various events.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both for each count. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.