A Carmel man faces federal charges in what investigators describe as an elaborate online scheme to defraud businesses, financial institutions and individuals of millions of dollars via Paypal and eBay.

Tuong Quoc Ho, 32, faces 28 counts including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, credit card fraud and money laundering after it was discovered that he had created hundreds of Paypal and eBay accounts using others' information and connected them to his personal bank account, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Indiana announced Friday.

He used the more than $2 million generated from fraudulent eBay sales for personal expenses, including purchasing his Carmel home and wiring money to family and friends in Vietnam, according to the indictment.

The announcement comes one day after FBI agents conducted a raid of his Carmel home.

The investigation, which included the Carmel Police Department, the FBI and the United States Postal Inspection Service, began in October 2018, according to a news release.

Beginning in 2013 and continuing through at least August 2019, authorities allege Ho obtained personal information from hundreds of people living worldwide and used it to open PayPal and eBay accounts he then linked to his own bank account.

He also used that information to generate identification documents — including driver's licenses, passports and Social Security cards — he used to convince PayPal of the identity of the person using the accounts, according to the indictment.

He used thousands of stolen credit cards, the indictment alleges, to advertise and sell items through those eBay accounts and had more than 500 PayPal accounts linked to his bank account.

U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler said in a written statement that his office is committed to prosecuting this kind of crime to the fullest extent.

“Fraud cannot and will not be tolerated at any cost, especially when it involves identity theft,” Minkler said. “This can devastate people’s credit, which often times takes them years to repair."

If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a maximum fine of $250,000, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Call IndyStar reporter Holly Hays at 317-444-6156. Follow her on Twitter: @hollyvhays.