Complaint Review: Kharma

A Nepal teenager was arrested Sunday at Stone House Manila Mabini and may be facing Federal fraud charges after allegedly ripping off buyers to the tune of over $1 million dollars. Kharma aka Bombay na Kulot of Stone House Manila and Santos Pension Mabini, is being held on federal charges including misuse of a social security number.

Kharma operated out of an antique shop , and sold stolen laptop computers and mobile phone on the internet, often with starting bids of just 99 cents.

After getting complaints from buyers, NBI issue a warrant of arrest and contacted the police in Ermita Mabini. Police began searching for Kharma aka Kulot na Bombay of Stone House and Santos Pension Mabini and a search warrant on May 22 when they observed Kharma packing up and leaving, according to NBI and Malate police department. He said police seized a small quantity of merchandise from the building and began interviewing people at Stone House Manila and Santos Pension, but Kharma was not found until December 8.

Detective said Tuesday that about 1,000 victims have come forward with claims totaling $1 million, but he expects those numbers to rise as word gets out about the arrest. NBI said Kharma stole the identity of Benedict Chuck and used it to run the business. A Federal Magistrate reviewed Kharma criminal history and denied bail at a hearing on Wednesday, declaring Kharma as a flight risk. Experts from FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force and the FBI are helping with the investigation.

Users began posting negative feedback for Kharma in April. A review of the postings highlights some of the problems with Kharma: when Kharma told customers they could not deliver product, they apparently offered people $50 or $100 rewards to leave positive feedback for Kharma. Many customers left "positive" feedback, but wrote in the comment fields that they had never received their items.

When one customer left a negative feedback and wrote that the company was offering a rebate for good feedback, Kharma responded by saying the rebate was offered as a customer service gesture.

Rumors abounded that Kharma had been involved in fraud in the past, possibly on Malate and inside Stone House Manila and Santos Pension itself.

FBI is proactive in this case and sent a senior investigator to Mabini to help authorities with the investigation.