A Brisbane, Australia, woman pleaded guilty to selling three cases of Duff brand beer on eBay. The problem was the beer didn’t exist.
Tara Edith Woodford, 28, pleaded guilty in northern Queensland state to three charges of dishonestly gaining money by false pretenses.
According to the prosecutor for the case, three separate buyers paid Woodford a total of 1,951 Australian dollars (U.S. $1,511) for the nonexistent beer after posting the products for sale on the eBay auction Website.
The “Duff” brand of beer was originally fictionalized on the animated television show The Simpsons. Although two breweries sold their own “Duff Beer” in Australia in the 1990s, it was taken off the market because Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. does not license The Simpson’s merchandising for products that could be harmful to children.
While remaining cases of Duff Beer exist and have been sold for as much as A$1,000 (U.S. $774) on eBay, Woodford admits she never possessed any such beer cans in the first place.
Three buyers contacted police after they paid Woodford for the products but did not receive them. She was easy to track down because she listed her real name and address on eBay.
Woodford, whose lawyer says she used the money she received to buy Christmas presents and clothing for her four children, was placed on 18 months of probation and was ordered to reimburse the money and undergo counseling.