A WOMAN who bought designer handbags online before returning Chinese knock-offs to stores and netting the profits has been jailed.

    Praepitcha Smatsorabudh, 41, from Arlington, the U.S., pocketed the money she was refunded when she returned the fake bags in place of the authentic purchases to the department stores and then sold the authentic versions of the Gucci, Fendi and Burberry bags on Instagram and eBay for more than US$2,000 each.

    She ran her elaborate scam for years across America, making fraudulent returns at more than 60 stores across 12 states, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

    In total, her scheme defrauded department stores out of more than US$400,000.

    She was sentenced yesterday to 30 months in prison.

    The conwoman was also sentenced to three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay US$403,250.81 in forfeiture and the same amount in restitution to her victims.

    Originally from Thailand, Smatsorabudh was living in Arlington, Virginia, reportedly on a student visa at the time of her arrest in June.

    But her Instagram account was awash with pictures of her lavish lifestyle.

    When she wasn’t flogging the expensive purses she was posting about sushi, working out at the gym and French-style patisseries.

    In a rather telling motto, the last post on her social media account says “what comes easy won’t last, what lasts won’t come easy.”

    She pleaded guilty Aug. 3.

    Investigators discovered that Smatsorabudh bought handbags every week between late 2014 and the end of 2015.

    In an email to one of the knock-off handbag suppliers in September 2014, Smatsorabudh allegedly said, “The best fake bag I’ve ever seen! Can you send me more ... from this factory. They make bag IMPaCABLE [sic]!!!!”

    She would usually target T.J. Maxx. At one point, she was the company’s biggest online customer in the world, the Washington Post reported. The firm identified 226 purses she had returned. Once the retailer worked out the alleged scam, they contacted police.

    Smatsorabudh was arrested after an undercover Homeland Security officer posed as a buyer online and bought one of the designer bags from her.

    (SD-Agencies)