Story on Bricklink you guys should know about...

Post by **JoshWedin** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 4:00 pm

Wow...I hate to say it, but that was brilliant. It is really too bad that a guy with that kind of intellect has to be a criminal. He could accomplish so much otherwise. Being a treatment foster parent, I see this kind of mentality a lot. This guy really makes me mad...

Josh

eNiGMa · Post by **eNiGMa** » Sat Nov 26, 2005 1:58 am

I hate to beat a dead (okay, mortally wounded) horse, but this story happened to be on TV here today. I wouldn't be posting this except for the fact that I found it interesting that it even was on TV.

If you're interested, click on the little video link on this page (the link should be on the top right part of the story).

Dunechaser · Post by **Dunechaser** » Sat Nov 26, 2005 5:28 pm

eNiGMa wrote:I hate to beat a dead (okay, mortally wounded) horse, but this story happened to be on TV here today.

Yeah, here too. (Can't find the article on the local news channels' sites, though.)

Post by **Athos** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 3:39 am

Wow, he from Reno... I wonder if Nevada will prosecute him too? That might be a little weird.

He's going to get nailed.

Steve, who also lives in Reno and works for the courts

Post by **Bruce N H** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 10:27 am

Hey Steve,

You'd have more insight into this, but I think it could go federal. This involves at least a few hundred thousand dollars of theft across several states and movement of stolen goods through internet sales and mail shipments. I don't see how that can stay with just a local jurisdiction.

Bruce

Murgen · Post by **Murgen** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 8:13 pm

Is there anyone in the Portland area who knows how their local police auctions work?

Not that I am an opportunist....

Blueandwhite · Post by **Blueandwhite** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 10:11 pm

Murgen wrote:Is there anyone in the Portland area who knows how their local police auctions work?

Not that I am an opportunist....

I very much doubt that the police will be auctioning off the LEGO acquired illegally by Mr. Swanberg. I mean, doesn't Target have some claim to the merchandise?

psu_ericksen · Post by **psu_ericksen** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 12:57 am

Blueandwhite wrote:
Murgen wrote:Is there anyone in the Portland area who knows how their local police auctions work?

Not that I am an opportunist....
I very much doubt that the police will be auctioning off the LEGO acquired illegally by Mr. Swanberg. I mean, doesn't Target have some claim to the merchandise?

No doubt. Best you could hope for would be the opportunity to bid on the van he used in his capers. Yippee!

Sean

Post by **Bruce N H** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 1:45 am

Blueandwhite wrote: I very much doubt that the police will be auctioning off the LEGO acquired illegally by Mr. Swanberg. I mean, doesn't Target have some claim to the merchandise?

Hmm, but if the sets have already been parted out, I don't know if Target has any means to recoup their losses. Perhaps Target will hold a large sale of the loose bricks to make back their money.

Bruce

Post by **Athos** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 2:40 am

Bruce N H wrote:Hey Steve,

You'd have more insight into this, but I think it could go federal. This involves at least a few hundred thousand dollars of theft across several states and movement of stolen goods through internet sales and mail shipments. I don't see how that can stay with just a local jurisdiction.

Bruce

Ah the intracasies of federalism and dual sovereignty... blech! Here is my pretty uninformed (I didn't have much education in this area, beyond the basics, in bar review) take on it.

Feds could definately nail him for the mail fraud and any sales that went across state lines. Something also the lines of sales of stolen property.

Each state could nail him for the underlying thefts (and for burglary for each of the entries stores).

And if they really wanted to throw the book at him, they could prosecute him for state law violations and federal law violations for the same conduct. Assuming the feds went first and then the state (or vice-versa, I can't ever keep that straight).

Steve

Dusty · Post by **Dusty** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 8:23 am

I would think if the police didnt auction them that Target and other stores would try to ship pieces back to Lego and workout a deal so that their loss isnt too great. You never know though. I will have to let my relatives in Portland know so they can keep an eye out.

Dusty

cnelson · Post by **cnelson** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 2:27 pm

Dusty wrote:I would think if the police didnt auction them that Target and other stores would try to ship pieces back to Lego and workout a deal so that their loss isnt too great. You never know though. I will have to let my relatives in Portland know so they can keep an eye out.

Dusty

Most likely, Target will claim the stolen property as a loss. Their insurance company will pay their claim and then either sue Mr. Swanberg in civil court or ask the judge in the criminal case to enter a financial judgment in their favor as part of the sentencing, depending on which court he's tried in, state laws, etc. Usually a cut-and-dried case will go with the criminal trial and a more complex case will do a separate civil trial (as the burden of proof is less in a civil case).

There's a good chance that the stolen Legos will go to auction, or they may be donated to local schools/whatever depending on the largesse of Target, the insurance company, and/or the court. If they go to auction the proceeds will go to recompensate Target/insurance.

Don't get too excited, though--it will probably be auctioned as one large lot.

Carl

cnelson · Post by **cnelson** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 2:40 pm

BTW, I've seen some posts by those of us who purchased from Mr. Swanberg worried about the legal ramifications of having done so. Most states have laws against knowingly receiving stolen property. Those of us buying from him would be considered "good faith" purchasers who had no knowledge of the illicit source of our wares, thus not culpable of anything other than an act of commerce. I think typically the original owner has first claim to stolen property with the unknowing purchaser entitled to recompensation, but I doubt that a retail store would particularly care to receive used product (nor could I 100% separate what I had purchased from the rest of my collection).

Which brings up another consideration--BrickLink states that they only maintain orders on record for 180 days. However, totals of what Mr. Swanberg has sold on BL seem to be bandied about--are orders maintained somewhere in archive? Are sales numbers accumulated by Admin? If so, those would seem to be evidence in the case...

Carl

Blueandwhite · Post by **Blueandwhite** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 3:36 pm

Mr. Nelson, you seem to be quite informed in matters of law. What I'm wondering is, would Mr. Swanberg's actions be considered theft or fraud? What I mean is, Swanberg actually went through a transaction (abiet an illegal one) to obtain goods which he then redistributed via the internet. To the best of your understanding, does this have any legal ramifications? I mean, Target had plenty of opportunity to prevent Mr. Swanberg from acquiring these unusally large amounts of LEGO at seemingly low prices.

As you pointed out, in cases of theft, the law generally favours the original owner instead of the innocent purchaser (ie. X robs A, sells to B - Law favours A). What I'm wondering is, does Target's willful blindness to Swanberg's theft reduce their claim over the otherwise innocent purchaser?

Just curious, as I never made any purchases from Swanberg.

Later.

Post by **Athos** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 2:53 am

What I'm wondering is, would Mr. Swanberg's actions be considered theft or fraud?

I can actually answer this one from experience. When I was working at the DAs office, these scenarios weren't uncommon, and we usually prosecuted them as simple thefts (probably under a theory akin to common law Larceny by Trick or False Pretences).

And of course there is always the burglary, which, contrary to popular belief, only requires someone enter a building with the intent to commit theft or a felony.

Steve