HAMILTON — A Hamilton couple made thousands of dollars by obtaining stolen gift certificates for Pampers diapers and wipes, then selling them on the eBay Internet auction site, a police report says.

        Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper on Wednesday said the scope of the alleged scheme remained under investigation by his office's white-collar crime/consumer fraud unit, Hamilton city police and investigators in Hamilton County.

        So far, he said, bank accounts have been seized, a home was searched and two people have been arrested: David Winsted, 34, and his wife, Toni Fowler, 36. They are charged with receiving stolen property and telecommunications fraud charges. The couple were arraigned Tuesday in Hamilton Municipal Court and are scheduled for a preliminary hearing Wednesday.

        A woman who identified herself as Ms. Fowler hung up on a reporter Wednesday.

        Court records say more than 2,000 of the coupons were found in a search of the couple's home Saturday. Police say the coupons had been stolen from Berman Printing Co., 1441 Western Ave., Cincinnati, which printed them.

        Samantha German, a spokeswoman for Berman, declined to comment Wednesday.

        The gift certificates were part of an Internet offer by Pampers' maker, Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Co., said Lisa Jester, a company spokeswoman.

        Under the program, which began in October 2000 and ceased in early July, consumers could go online and purchase gift certificates for Pampers products.

        No P&G employees have been identified as being involved in the alleged scheme, she said.

        A search warrant filed Tuesday in Butler County Common Pleas Court says a Cincinnati detective had tracked $27,235 worth of stolen Pampers certificates to four different eBay accounts, including one in Hamilton. Further investigation led to Ms. Fowler and Mr. Winsted, the affidavit says.

        Last week, a Hamilton city detective obtained a court order to view Ms. Fowler's eBay account. He found she was running two advertisements to sell 15 coupons for free tubs of Pampers wipes, court records say.

        Kevin Pursglove, a spokesman for eBay, said $36 million worth of transactions occur through the site daily. Yet, he said, less than 0.01 percent of all eBay listings resulted in a confirmed case of fraud.

        “The number of fraud cases associated with stolen merchandise is even smaller,” he said. “We cooperate with law enforcement fully.”

        Steve Eder contributed to this report.

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