Pair admits to defrauding Target with bad bar codes

A Lakewood couple pleaded guilty on April 17 to devising and running a scheme in which they profited by selling merchandise that was fraudulently purchased below retail prices from Target stores through the use of fake bar code labels, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

Robert Bailey, 39, and his wife, Theresa Bailey, 45, entered their pleas in U.S. District Court in Trenton before Judge Mary L. Cooper, who scheduled sentencing for Jan 11, 2008. Both defendants were released on $100,000 personal recognizance bonds pending sentencing.

Both Robert and Theresa Bailey pleaded guilty to separate one-count Informa-tions, which charge mail fraud.

At their plea hearings, the couple admitted that from January through May 2004 they devised and operated a scheme in which Robert created fraudulent bar code labels for products that they intended to purchase from Target and other home products stores in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The couple then placed the fake bar codes on products in the stores they visited, enabling them to purchase the items below retail prices, the couple admitted. The defendants admitted they then profited by reselling the fraudulently purchased items on eBay. The items were then shipped to the winning eBay bidders via private carriers and the United States Postal Service.

In pleading guilty, the defendants agreed to pay $45,000 in restitution to Target stores.

The charge of mail fraud carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to the press release.