Were eBay auto parts stolen items?

Authorities call it embezzlement by eBay.

The former parts and service director at Old Mill Toyota is accused of stealing more than $282,000 from the Omaha dealership by ordering parts through the dealership, then auctioning them off through his personal eBay account, prosecutors say.

James A. Norwood, 55, was charged last week with theft, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Douglas County District Judge John Huber set his bail at 10 percent of $500,000 and sent the case to Douglas County District Court after Norwood waived a preliminary hearing.

Norwood's attorney, Michael J. Fitzpatrick, said his client maintains his innocence.

“It's important to remember these are just merely accusations,” Fitzpatrick said. “There isn't any proof of wrongdoing.”

Prosecutor Rob MacTaggart, a deputy Douglas County attorney, and Omaha Police Detective Kristy Cook laid out their allegations in court and in an affidavit seeking Norwood's arrest:

In the spring, Barbara Moore, comptroller at Old Mill, noticed that Norwood was creating several fictitious “part tickets,” or orders, for local auto body shops. Norwood would write another employee's name on the tickets — an employee who had already clocked out for the day.

Norwood, who started at Old Mill in July 2000, later canceled the orders so the auto body shops weren't actually billed.

Investigators then searched Norwood's work and home computers and noticed that he had listed several of the Toyota body parts in eBay auctions.

Norwood was a hit on eBay for his quick service and low prices.

“Whoa,” one customer wrote. “Extremely fast shipping, original brand Toyota, thanks again.”

Other customers praised him for his persistence. At one point in 2004, Norwood was hospitalized at Bergan Mercy Medical Center for antifreeze poisoning.

“In the hospital and is still getting his stuff sent out,” one customer wrote. “Now that is dedication.”

When Old Mill received the orders, Moore told police, Norwood would help unload the trucks. He had workers create a separate pile for parts he intended to sell himself, according to the affidavit.

Police were able to go back four years in searching Norwood's eBay account. Over that time, authorities allege, Norwood sold hundreds of Toyota truck parts —798 bed extenders, 375 skid plates and 363 roof racks — for $226,000.

Investigators were able to go back further in searching Norwood's PayPal account and say he had received $548,000 for Toyota parts since March 2001.

Moore estimated that Old Mill had lost $282,590 to the scheme since January 2005, about the time Norwood became parts and service director.

Cook, the investigator, wrote in the affidavit for Norwood's arrest that Old Mill officials confronted Norwood about the purported scheme on May 15. Asked where the dealership's parts were stocked, Norwood explained that “they probably don't have any.”

“Norwood then quit the business,” Cook wrote.

Contact the writer:

444-1275, todd.cooper@owh.com