Hanover Man Anthony DeFilippo Gets 18 Months for eBay Scheme Filled With Stolen-Card Walmart Orders

Case from 2013 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: May 17, 2013). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Anthony F. DeFilippo, 56, of Hanover, Ill., was sentenced on May 17, 2013, in federal court in Rockford to 18 months in prison for an eBay scheme. Items he sold were bought from Walmart.com with stolen credit card numbers, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced [1].

How the scheme worked

DeFilippo admitted the following in his plea agreement [1]:

1. The listing: From 2009 to 2011, he listed merchandise such as vacuum cleaners and sewing machines on his eBay account.
2. The stolen-card order: When an eBay buyer paid, another participant ordered the same item from Walmart.com using other people's names and credit card numbers without permission.
3. The shipment: Walmart shipped the item to the eBay buyer's address, but under the name of the cardholder whose number had been stolen.
4. The cash-out: eBay buyers' payments reached DeFilippo through PayPal debit cards. He withdrew the money, kept part of it and sent the rest to others, including people in Ukraine and other countries.

Walmart.com, card issuers and cardholders were all victims. This pattern is often called "triangulation fraud."

The sentence

Anthony F. DeFilippo, 56, Hanover, Ill.

• Plea: guilty to wire fraud on Nov. 21, 2012.
• Sentence: 18 months in prison, then three years of supervised release including nine months of home confinement, plus $53,664.61 in restitution. U.S. District Judge Philip G. Reinhard imposed the sentence [1].

The U.S. Secret Service, the FBI and the Illinois State Police investigated.

Red flags

• For buyers: a package arrives from a big retailer, not the marketplace seller, addressed to a stranger's name. Contact the platform and the retailer.
• For cardholders: charges for merchandise shipped to an address you don't know.
• For "sellers": job offers to list items or move money through debit cards for someone overseas. That can make you part of a crime.

What to do

1. Report unknown charges to your card issuer right away and check your credit at AnnualCreditReport.com.
2. Report identity theft at IdentityTheft.gov.
3. Report marketplace fraud to the platform and to the FBI at ic3.gov.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Anthony F. DeFilippo, Hanover, Ill.	N.D. Ill. (Rockford, Judge Reinhard)	Pleaded guilty Nov. 21, 2012, to wire fraud; sentenced May 17, 2013, to 18 months, 3 years' supervised release (9 months home confinement), $53,664.61 restitution	[1]

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Hanover Man Sentenced To 18 Months In Federal Prison For Fraud Scheme Involving EBay Sales," May 17, 2013. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/hanover-man-sentenced-18-months-federal-prison-fraud-scheme-involving-ebay-sales

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