Federal prosecutors have charged a Youngstown man with wire fraud, alleging he defrauded an online auction site out of nearly $30,000 through a scheme involving fraudulent price adjustments and refunds.

According to court documents unsealed Monday in U.S. District Court, Paul Jackson, who resided in Youngstown, is accused of devising a scheme to defraud an e-commerce company based in San Jose, California.

A Bill of Information filed by the U.S. Attorney’s White Collar Crimes Unit identifies the alleged victim as “Online Auction Site 1.”

A Bill of Information is a formal written accusation filed by prosecutors. Unlike a grand jury indictment, which is decided by a group of citizens, a Bill of Information usually means the defendant has agreed to plead guilty to the charges.

The U.S. Attorney's Office alleges that between November 2017 and August 2021, Jackson intentionally defrauded the company by obtaining lower prices on items and securing refunds for items he kept.

Prosecutors detailed two methods Jackson allegedly used. In the first, between November 2017 and June 2020, Jackson would call the online auction site's customer service, falsely identifying himself as the seller of specific items. He would then request a price reduction and subsequently purchase the item at the lower price. The indictment states this resulted in approximately $22,164.23 losses for the auction site, which reimbursed sellers the difference.

The second part of the alleged scheme occurred between July 2020 and August 2021. After purchasing items, Jackson would again call customer service, this time falsely claiming to be the seller attempting to process a refund but encountering an error. He would then ask the representative to issue the refund, allowing him to receive the money while retaining the purchased item. This resulted in approximately $7,758.22 losses for the online auction site, according to the court documents.

The information filed by the U.S. Attorney includes two counts of wire fraud. Each count specifies a date when Jackson allegedly used wire communications – a phone call – across state lines to execute the scheme.

Court documents do not disclose the age or current residence of Jackson.