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Purchased a lost/stolen item through Craigslist and sold it back to someone else

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I live in San Diego-California. 3 weeks ago I purchased an Amazon Kindle Fire through Craigslist. In order to use it properly the device needs to be registered. At the time of purchase the lady who sold it to me said that it was registered under her husband's name who is a police officer in the SDPD and he wouldn't be home before 8pm. She asked me if it was OK to wait a little bit. I said OK. I made the payment and got home. Long story short it turned out that the item was blacklisted, which means that it was reported as a lost or stolen item and it cannot be registered. I called the lady but she did not answer
my call. I told her that I am going file a complaint against her then she said that she was on the phone with Amazon and trying to fix ix.

After a few hours she asked me if it was OK to wait until 8:00am next morning since they both have to wake up early in the morning (at the time it was around 11pm) and I said OK. The next morning she stopped responding my texts and calls. I went to the police station and explained what happened and the guy/office over there said that there was nothing to do. I called Amazon and asked for the owners information (such as zip code) to make sure that the person that I bought it from was the real owner however Amazon was not able give me any information at all.

I ended up putting the device back on Craigslist and wrote that the item is blacklisted and I made it very clear. I got bunch of emails from people who wanted to buy it or were asking about it being blacklisted. Someone from the military purchased the device 3 days ago, knowing that the device was "as is". This morning she texted me saying that she wants her money back otherwise she is going to file a charge against me and file a report to Fraud Department for defrauding a government employee.

I still have a copy of the ad that I posted on CL and the emails that I got from different people before or after her email questions about it being blacklisted. I can prove that she knew before she bought it however my question is what should I do at this stage? Any helpful
response will be appreciated.
 
Last edited:


sandyclaus

Senior Member
I live in San Diego-California. 3 weeks ago I purchased an Amazon Kindle Fire through Craigslist. In order to use it properly the device needs to be registered. At the time of purchase the lady who sold it to me said that it was registered under her husband's name who is a police officer in the SDPD and he wouldn't be home before 8pm. She asked me if it was OK to wait a little bit. I said OK. I made the payment and got home. Long story short it turned out that the item was blacklisted, which means that it was reported as a lost or stolen item and it cannot be registered. I called the lady but she did not answer
my call. I told her that I am going file a complaint against her then she said that she was on the phone with Amazon and trying to fix ix.

After a few hours she asked me if it was OK to wait until 8:00am next morning since they both have to wake up early in the morning (at the time it was around 11pm) and I said OK. The next morning she stopped responding my texts and calls. I went to the police station and explained what happened and the guy/office over there said that there was nothing to do. I called Amazon and asked for the owners information (such as zip code) to make sure that the person that I bought it from was the real owner however Amazon was not able give me any information at all.

I ended up putting the device back on Craigslist and wrote that the item is blacklisted and I made it very clear. I got bunch of emails from people who wanted to buy it or were asking about it being blacklisted. Someone from the military purchased the device 3 days ago, knowing that the device was "as is". This morning she texted me saying that she wants her money back otherwise she is going to file a charge against me and file a report to Fraud Department for defrauding a government employee.

I still have a copy of the ad that I posted on CL and the emails that I got from different people before or after her email questions about it being blacklisted. I can prove that she knew before she bought it however my question is what should I do at this stage? Any helpful
response will be appreciated.
You already knew that the item didn't belong to you, despite the fact that you paid for it. You knew it at the moment that it could not be registered.

If the item has indeed been reported stolen, then you would be guilty of receiving stolen property by re-selling it, especially when you knew it was stolen.

It doesn't matter if you informed someone that the item was already "blacklisted". It wasn't yours to sell. You need to refund this person their money, and you need to contact Amazon and ask them to have the owner contact you about getting their item back.
 
You already knew that the item didn't belong to you, despite the fact that you paid for it. You knew it at the moment that it could not be registered.

If the item has indeed been reported stolen, then you would be guilty of receiving stolen property by re-selling it, especially when you knew it was stolen.

It doesn't matter if you informed someone that the item was already "blacklisted". It wasn't yours to sell. You need to refund this person their money, and you need to contact Amazon and ask them to have the owner contact you about getting their item back.
Thank you for the answer. I called the Amazon and asked if it was reported as a stolen or lost however they do not give information about it. The only thing that say it is "lost or stolen". I told them that I will be more than happy to return it to the real owner or send it to Amazon if they will send it to the real owner but they say that they can't do either one.
 
I don't think the OP really knows the policy of Kindle that well to know that its stolen.

I would tell the gov't employee to contact your lawyer since the GI is saying you are going to be charged with a crime....then give the guy/gal the number to the white house.
 

sandyclaus

Senior Member
Thank you for the answer. I called the Amazon and asked if it was reported as a stolen or lost however they do not give information about it. The only thing that say it is "lost or stolen". I told them that I will be more than happy to return it to the real owner or send it to Amazon if they will send it to the real owner but they say that they can't do either one.
Just to be a nice person, I am refunding her money. Hopefully karma really works :)
Turn the item in to your local police department along with the information from Amazon that the item was reported lost or stolen. I'm sure that they can get it back to it's rightful owner (not YOU, which also means that YOU can't keep it either).
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
You are also committing a crime in CA. You are either knowingly in possession of stolen property, or misappropriating found property. Under the circumstances, I suspect the former (which can be charged as a felony).

You should probably turn the device and all the information you have on the original seller to the local police.
 

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