Criminal charges were brought against 90 people and companies Wednesday as part of a joint operation between the Justice Department and the National White Collar Crime Center -- charged with cutting down on Internet fraud.

Operation Cyber Loss gathered information on more than 56,000 victims of Internet fraud, ranging from online auction fraud to Ponzi/Pyramid schemes which fleeced unsuspecting victims of more than $117 million. Federal Bureau of Investigation offices from around the country participated in the search and seizure efforts, resulting in 57 arrests and pleas or convictions on 110 counts. They ranged from mail fraud to intellectual property theft to interstate transfer of stolen property. It's all part of an effort initiated last year with the creation of the Internet Fraud Complaint Center, which tabulates all the fraud complaints it gets into a national picture, something local law enforcement agencies are unable to do. Made up of officials from the FBI and the NW3C, the site was established on May 8, 2000, to let consumers file fraud complaints that went right to federal law enforcement officials. Tracey Silverling, FBI spokesperson, said many times local law enforcement agencies are overburdened with "real life" situations and put online fraud at a lower priority. IFCC figures show 83 percent of Internet auction fraud complaints are against individuals, not businesses. Of that 83 percent, 25 percent do not know the physical address of the person who jilted them, while 14 percent of those that do only have a Post Office box. In 2000, online auction fraud accounted for $4 million in losses; from January to April 2001, complaints have already totaled $3.2 million.