Case Description
Robert Baranovich and his son, Steven Baranovich agreed to pay $10,000 in penalties and restitution to consumers harmed by their shill bidding. In a complaint filed with the Consent Order settling the case, the Attorney General alleged that the Baranoviches placed 170 phony bids in 165 of their own E-Bay auctions of sports memorabilia. For example, In one of the Baranoviches’ auctions, the purchaser of a bat signed by the 2000 New York Yankees paid $999, a sum shilled up $175 from its previous high bid of $824.