New York- A sophisticated e-bay jewelry scammer placed 232,000 bids with a value of over $5 million dollars in a one year period on e-bay. New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo said Ezra Dweck of EMH Group distributed spreadsheets to his employees instructing them to bid, raising the final price of the jewelery he was selling. The attorney general estimates that the bidding raised the final price by 20%. Dweck listed jewelry on e-bay with no reserve price.

People were induced to bid because it appeared that that the jewelry would be sold no matter how low the price was. Most bidders on e-bay look to see if there is a reserve price that must first be met. In Dweck's auctions there was no reserve price. As soon as bidding started, Dweck's employees utilized their spread sheets to drive up bidding.

EMH sells jewelry and diamonds nationwide to retail jewelry stores. EMH lists sales at US $50 million to US $100 million from their offices on 7th ave. Established in 1980, they specialize in manufacturing as well as buying large close outs. They list between 50 to 100 employees. EMH operated several websites and online auctions, jewelry by Ezra, Auction Riot, and several E-Bay user names.

In a civil fraud complaint, EMH has agreed to pay $400,000 to the Attorney General's office to settle charges that it inflated prices by bidding on its own on line auctions. Shill bidding in auctions is nothing new, but with the reach and scope of internet auctions, the potential for massive fraud is staggering.