COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A Columbus woman has been indicted in connection with an alleged bid-rigging scheme in which she made nearly $10,000.
According to the Ohio attorney general’s office, the woman was accused of artificially inflating prices in online auctions and is facing charges of price fixing, bid rigging and telecommunications fraud, and two counts of identity fraud.
The indictment alleges that while acting through her business, Priceless Discoveries, Lindsay Klein, also known as Linday Leslie, used fake identities to place bids on 760 items, falsely creating the impression that the items were of greater value and in greater demand than they were.
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The incidents in question, known as “shill billing,” occurred between July 2022 and March 2023. The inflated auction closing prices closed at profits totaling approximately $9,000…