Deputies: North Naples man stole from Staples, sold items on eBay

Rafael Ortega Paz

A Staples employee was accused Thursday of making fraudulent returns, manipulating the company's rewards program, taking money from the safe and stealing merchandise to sell on eBay.

According to an arrest report, Rafael Ortega Paz, 25, of the 1100 block of Turtle Creek Drive, North Naples, began selling the stolen Staples merchandise on eBay in July 2010. Investigators later found those items matched items that had been unaccounted for in inventory.

Ortega Paz also was accused of taking cash from a safe that he had a key to; manipulating a rewards program to obtain credit to buy merchandise; and making fraudulent returns to obtain store credit on gift cards, which he later sold.

The total estimated loss was redacted from an arrest report.

Ortega Paz told detectives the items from eBay were purchased by him on clearance and sold for a small profit. He faces a charge of fraud under $20,000.