Have you purchased a computer from Best Buy, only to find that it had no internal parts? No hard drive. No video card. No motherboard? If so, you (allegedly) have Joseph Denice of Silver Spring, MD to thank for your gutted PC. His hobby is buying computers from Best Buy, removing the parts, and then returning the empty shell. Best Buy’s employees would then put the computer husks back on store shelves where they would be repurchased by unwitting consumers such as… you.

MSNBC says that when the hapless customers returned the “defective” computers, Best Buy shrugged and sent them back to the manufacturer. Meanwhile, Denice was selling the parts over the internet. It’s estimated that over $100,000 worth of merchandise was lost in this scam.

We suppose this means that not only do you have to check to make sure the stuff you’re buying is inside the box when you’re shopping at Best Buy, you have to make sure the parts are inside the computer. Fun!

Man Accused Of Gutting, Returning Computers [MSNBC] (Thanks, Jeffrey!)
(Photo: tengaport )

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