What if they can’t help?
Fraudsters were caught, convicted, and sent to jail as long as there were cages strong enough to hold the defendants. Through outlaw walks and lawsuits, the public is left to contemplate the audacity of wrongdoing (as in the case of Elizabeth Holmes) or its destructive footprints (Bernie Madoff) and wonder: what could make someone commit a crime so audacious that it borders on the unbelievable?
One of the answers gives an ongoing and confusing case Vitaly Borker. 45-year-old native of Ukraine, Mr Borker was arrested last week in Brooklyn by federal postal inspectors on charges of mail and wire fraud. This is his third run-in with the law on the same charge – bullying and cheating customers your online glasses store.
As for compulsions, it seems strange. Mr. Borker apparently enjoys the grueling job of bullying and threatening eyeglass buyers so much that after more than five years in prison, two terms, he still doesn’t seem to be looking for a new career. U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York alleges that Mr. Borker didn’t even wait until he was a free man to start scamming clients again in June 2020. He was still halfway there.
Dominique Amorosa, his lawyer, said in an email that Mr. Borker intends to plead not guilty.
Both business and popular culture value ruthlessness, even when it seems over the top. Michael Jordan used to imagine that basketball rivals personally insulted him to spur his hyper-competitive fervor. Many leaders have a trick that can seem monomanic. Al Dunlap, the former chief executive of appliance company Sunbeam and the man who brought predatory joy to layoffs, is a key figure in a book called The Psychopath Test.
But these people have no problem staying on the right side of the law. For Mr. Borker, this seems like a struggle, though he has lately curbed the excesses of his early and most pernicious methods, suggesting he understands there is a line between legal and illegal behavior.
In 2010, he ran a website, DecorMyEyes, which regularly sent cheap, counterfeit versions of glasses made by companies like Dior and Chanel, and flew into a rage when they demanded refunds.
Then he became even more aggressive. Using the pseudonym Stanley Balds, he frequently threatened to maim or kill customers. On one occasion, he vowed to cut off a woman’s legs. In another, he sent an email with a photo of the client’s apartment building and a note saying “PS don’t forget I know where you live.” On one occasion, he sent out emails to colleagues of a client informing them that the client was gay and was a drug dealer.
At 6ft 5in, Mr. Borker would most likely tower over anyone he wanted to personally threaten. But no one ever said that he carried out his physical threats. However, many people were frightened by the fact that they flooded the message boards of consumer complaint sites such as getatisfaction.com.
In a remarkably candid interview the week before his first arrest in 2010, Mr. Borker described his wild approach to customer service as the forefront of online commerce. He argued that Google searches don’t distinguish between positive and negative reviews, so the more people who shout about DecorMyEyes online, the higher his company ranks in the search results.
Updated
February 25, 2022 10:31 AM ET
On my blog, Google announced after his first arrest, that he changed his algorithm and that from now on “bad customer service is bad for business at Google.”
In the latter case, Mr. Borker’s tactics softened considerably. The complaint, filed by the government, describes an online merchant who could, in less legal terms, be called a liar and a jerk.
His website claimed that he was selling “brand new and original designer eyewear and sunglasses”. In fact, the complaint states, the glasses were either used or counterfeit. Mr. Borker also refused to return money when requested by clients. Someone identified as Victim 2 did receive a refund, but about $50 less than the full amount.
If Mr. Borker returns to prison, history suggests he is unlikely to reform. At the most basic level, he simply enjoys his work. He once explained to a reporter that he enjoys the chaos and hectic energy required to constantly pester dozens of customers.
“I like crazy,” he said. “It works for me.”
In a previous case, court-appointed mental health experts concluded that Mr. Borker exhibited symptoms of bipolar disorder, narcissism, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
In a letter before sentencing, he appeared to agree. “Something is wrong in my brain,” he wrote.