What is the name of your state? CA
Hello everyone, I am from California, and I was previously employed at an electronics retailer. While working there, employees were given the option to buy drastically discounted items from suppliers. I worked at this store for a few years, and became friends with someone that actually owned their own electronics store. He suggested to me that i buy a large ammount of product, and then sell it to him, and we would both make a profit off of it. A friend of mine who also worked there said that he would help, so him and i both ordered about $4,000 worth of product, and then resold it. A few weeks later, we went through 2 other employees and did the same thing, I believe the total ammount that we spent all together is around $12000. Unfortunately, another employee that was moving out of the country did the same thing, except on a bigger scale, and sold it to the same retailer. Apparently it was discovered that the items ended up on Ebay, along with the serial numbers, which were tracked back to another employee (we didnt know that he was using other employees to buy product as well). So now an investigation has been launched, and although i no longer work there, i am sure i will be contacted soon as some employees have already been questioned. I actually was the one that received the check from my friend (who fronted me the money) and had it in my account, i then wrote out 3 other checks to pay off everyone else so that they could have the orders withdrawn from their accounts. I am afraid that one of the persons i used will admit what happened. Now i am worried about what kind of legal action can be taken against my friend and myself. Im over 18, so i know i cannot be tried as a minor, but aside from that i have a clean record. I had no idea that this was such a serious issue, and i dont know what to say if i am investigated or what my rights are. Can anyone please tell me what laws, if any i broke, and what i should do? From what i have heard, it is a federal crime since the product was shipped across state lines via Ebay. Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you.
edit: i should note that i was required to sign on the order form that said i would not sell the products before one years time, and i could only use them for myself.
Hello everyone, I am from California, and I was previously employed at an electronics retailer. While working there, employees were given the option to buy drastically discounted items from suppliers. I worked at this store for a few years, and became friends with someone that actually owned their own electronics store. He suggested to me that i buy a large ammount of product, and then sell it to him, and we would both make a profit off of it. A friend of mine who also worked there said that he would help, so him and i both ordered about $4,000 worth of product, and then resold it. A few weeks later, we went through 2 other employees and did the same thing, I believe the total ammount that we spent all together is around $12000. Unfortunately, another employee that was moving out of the country did the same thing, except on a bigger scale, and sold it to the same retailer. Apparently it was discovered that the items ended up on Ebay, along with the serial numbers, which were tracked back to another employee (we didnt know that he was using other employees to buy product as well). So now an investigation has been launched, and although i no longer work there, i am sure i will be contacted soon as some employees have already been questioned. I actually was the one that received the check from my friend (who fronted me the money) and had it in my account, i then wrote out 3 other checks to pay off everyone else so that they could have the orders withdrawn from their accounts. I am afraid that one of the persons i used will admit what happened. Now i am worried about what kind of legal action can be taken against my friend and myself. Im over 18, so i know i cannot be tried as a minor, but aside from that i have a clean record. I had no idea that this was such a serious issue, and i dont know what to say if i am investigated or what my rights are. Can anyone please tell me what laws, if any i broke, and what i should do? From what i have heard, it is a federal crime since the product was shipped across state lines via Ebay. Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you.
edit: i should note that i was required to sign on the order form that said i would not sell the products before one years time, and i could only use them for myself.