U.S. v. Bogdanov

In prosecution on charge of conspiracy to transport stolen goods in interstate commerce, Dist. Ct. did not err in entering preliminary forfeiture order in amount of $2.8 million after Dist. Ct. held evidentiary hearing in which investigator from one of defendant’s victims and Secret Service agent testified about interview with individual who claimed that he sold items obtained from defendant on eBay that generated approximately $3.5 million in sales over several year period. While defendant argued that govt. failed to establish that items sold on eBay had been stolen by defendant, govt. reasonably supported $2.8 million figure as net loss to victims through circumstantial evidence and statements made by defendant in his plea agreement. Moreover govt. was not required to trace back each item sold on eBay to charged offense. Also, defendant failed to present any evidence showing that items in question were obtained legitimately. Fact that testimony regarding eBay sales consisted of only hearsay statements from seller did not require different result.