Ex-Office Depot employees made millions selling stolen printer ink, toner on eBay: prosecutors

Two Office Depot employees made millions running a shady black market office supplies ring on the inteet, authorities said.

Dion Alexander, 35, a former Office Depot warehouse manager, and Kenneth Ngugi, 31, his one-time employee, bilked the big box store out of more than $2 million over the past five years by peddling stolen ink, toner and electronics on eBay, Seattle area prosecutors charged late last week.

The pair was busted in April 2010 after security cameras at a warehouse in Kent, Wash., caught them swiping a load of ink cartridges during an early moing heist, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.

The cameras had been recently installed after the company noticed more than $1 million worth of toner and ink had gone missing from the warehouse.

Cops found $6,750 worth of Office Depot merchandise in Ngugi's car, while Alexander had ten "crisp" hundred dollar bills on him, the Post-Intelligencer reported.

Ngugi ratted on his former manager about the scheme, telling investigators that he and his former boss made more than $500,000 selling pilfered supplies - mostly printer toner and ink - on eBay.

But investigators said his PayPal account had received millions from sales of laptops, digital cameras and other electronics.

Ngugi said he fenced the items on eBay after picking them up from Alexander during late night visits, prosecutors said.

The team specialized in bulk transactions - one IT company paid them more than $600,000 over three years for ink and toner, authorities said.

Both men were charged with seven counts of stolen good trafficking.