Question
This was in the Cleveland Plain dealer:
Couple's sales on eBay supplied by kids' shoplifting, police say
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Associated Press
Bellefontaine- Todd and Laura Morris appeared to be successful eBay entrepreneurs, earning thousands of dollars by selling new merchandise dirt cheap on the online auction site.
But the Logan County Sheriff's Office said the couple supplied their business by making their children - ages 5, 13, 15 and 17 - help them execute an elaborate shoplifting scheme at stores around the state.
The couple were arrested Thursday after investigators said they found $25,000 in stolen merchandise at their home. Investigators said the items ranged from toiletries to tools, but consisted mostly of clothing - much of it with anti-theft devices attached.
The husband and wife, both 35, were being held in Logan County Jail on charges of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, theft, child endangering and receiving stolen property. Prosecutors are reviewing the case to determine if the children should face delinquency charges.
Deputies described the children as reluctant pawns. The children each gave statements about how the scheme worked.
"There was a sense of relief by all the children that this was over and they weren't going to be forced to steal anymore," said detective Jon Stout of the Logan County sheriff's office.
Deputies said the mother took her three daughters and a son to shopping centers around the state to pull off thefts nearly every day for the past six months. Sometimes the mother would use the children as lookouts while she swiped items, authorities said.
Other times, the family would buy items, stash the paid-for merchandise in the trunk of a car, then return to the store with empty bags and receipts, the sheriff's office said.
They would fill the empty bags with duplicates of what already had been bought and walk out of the store with the goods, deputies said. If they were ever questioned, they could produce receipts that matched the items they were carrying, according to authorities.
After several repetitions of this process, the mother typically would return a set of the merchandise to get back the money she initially spent, detectives said.
The family visited stores such as Lowe's, Sears, Big Lots and Old Navy, authorities said.
"These stores were huge, and no one was paying attention to them," Stout said.
Meanwhile, the sheriff's office alleges that the father would stay home and sell the stolen goods on eBay. Online records show the couple executed more than 1,350 auctions on eBay, most in the last six months, earning a positive feedback rating of 99.8 percent.
EBay's feedback ratings create an online consumer guide for sellers and buyers. eBayers can use the ratings as references of past transactions, positive and negative.
But not everyone gave rave reviews. In a feedback statement posted on eBay, one of the customers gave the couple a neutral rating, complaining, "Fast shipping but the jeans came with the security thing, got a stain on the jeans."
The couple replied: "If you would have contacted me before removing it, I would have sent you another."
Stout said the customers would not face charges.
The sheriff's office searched the couple's house after receiving a tip on Wednesday.
Investigators said a family-run business, Morris Pallet Recycling, was failing, and they believe the alleged theft ring was the couple's only source of income.
Stout said the parents sent the Ohio Department of Education paperwork indicating they were home-schooling the children, but that the children weren't receiving any lessons. The children are with relatives.
Answer
Excuse me-where are the prosecutors going to find anyone who'd hold these children responsible for what their parents forced them to do? Get the kids help and a better home, not jail.
"Prosecutors are reviewing the case to determine if the children should face delinquency charges.
Deputies described the children as reluctant pawns. The children each gave statements about how the scheme worked.
"There was a sense of relief by all the children that this was over and they weren't going to be forced to steal anymore," "
Those people just make me
Answer
but they had a 99.8% feedback rating
Answer
MGC, I remember seeing kids come out of a local supermarket and get into their parents cadilac (sp), before they got in though they emptied out cartons of cigs from their pants, all 3 kids...
not much to say about it now, .. I guess it's the thought that counts. I dunno know..some parents just don't get it.