LAS CRUCES - A Romanian citizen was sentenced to the maximum three years in jail Friday for his part in defrauding a Las Cruces man out of $15,800 in 2007.

Lionel Mihalca, 35, who was indicted by a Do-a Ana County grand jury last September, has been incarcerated at the Do-a Ana County Detention Center since then and pleaded no contest to the felony fraud charge before District Court Judge Lisa Schultz on Friday.

Pretending to be a vendor on online auction site eBay Motors, Mihalca's associates told the winning bidder on a 2006 diesel Chevy Silverado truck to wire the payment directly. The auction Web site has always strongly warned against such payments because of the risk of fraud. But the group made it look like they were sending legitimate e-mails from eBay that approved the wire transfer, said the victim, who did not speak in court.

"The only involvement Lionel had was, he was the one with the bank account," said defense attorney Matt Madrid of Las Cruces. The others involved were "a group of Romanians - it probably wouldn't even be a reach to call them the Romanian mob."

Mihalca was involved in multiple such transactions - five or six totaling about $90,000 in just one two-week period - but only one was connected to Do-a Ana County, said 3rd Judicial District prosecutor Nelson Goodin, who said the FBI was also investigating the case and its other participants.

A legal resident alien for 13 years, Mihalca, whose last known address is in Las Vegas, Nev., was

ordered deported from Washington state for two previous felony convictions - on a Nevada burglary and fleeing from a law enforcement officer in Michigan - when prosecutors located him.

Mihalca became emotional as he apologized Friday, though he also called himself a "victim of circumstance" who was misinformed by his colleagues about the scope of the crimes. Mihalca got just a percentage of the money from the eBay scam, said Madrid, who noted that Mihalca had subsequently provided information to the FBI on the operation. Madrid argued that because of Mihalca's level of cooperation, he should be allowed to leave the country without serving any prison time.

"I feel sorry for those people who lost their money," Mihalca said. "I wish I could pay back those people and maybe one day I will. I also lost my home and car and my family got banished, too. I have to go home and provide for them."

While it was unclear whether Mihalca was "a mastermind or a pawn," Goodin said he was being disingenuous about his knowledge.

"The defendant has a history of dishonesty, of taking things that don't belong to him," Goodin argued during sentencing. "It's not an isolated incident."

Still, Madrid said later it was foolish to spend taxpayer money to imprison Mihalca - especially because Schultz ordered a two-year program of drug rehabilitation due to a previous conviction involving cocaine abuse.

"It's a far more expensive cost than someone who just goes to prison," Madrid said. "I didn't see the wisdom in that."

Ashley Meeks can be reached at ameeks@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5462.