A Bermudian man became the victim of an Internet scam when he tried to purchase some technical equipment on eBay.

Germaine Binns bid on a Lexicon MC-1 music/cinema processor that was placed for auction by an American named Timothy Gerald Keller on September 16, 2001. Winning the bid, Mr. Binns sent a cheque to Keller for $2,226 ? however, he never received the equipment.

Keller, it emerged, was the mastermind behind a scam involving residents in ten different American states as well as Mr. Binns.

The 38 year old was on parole for similar crimes after serving time in Colorado and Montana, but had given his parole officer the slip.

He established a good credit rating on eBay by ordering and paying for inexpensive items such as CDs or videos, said the prosecuting attorney in the case, Deputy County Attorney for Sheridan County, Wyoming Stuart Healy.

Once his good credit was established, Keller, formerly of Sheridan County, began auctioning off musical equipment which did not exist.

He scammed more than $20,000 from ten different people within three months. Though he at first attempted to flee the Sheridan County area with a woman, he was later apprehended and pleaded guilty to one felony count of obtaining property by false pretences.

He was sentenced to three to six years in prison, and ordered to pay $20,141 in restitution ? money his victims may not see anytime soon.

"The defendant doesn't have this money anymore, so the victims are left hoping that either through a parole officer or some other way this guy pays them all back," Mr. Healy. "It will all depend on what the defendant does when he gets out of prison."

Mr. Binns could not be contacted by Press time last night.