In two separate cases, a 41-year-old Langley man is accused of assuming a fake identity on Facebook to sell stolen heavy machinery, according to court documents.
Prosecutors first charged Joseph Epstein-Solfield in Island County Superior Court June 25, 2024 with criminal impersonation in the first degree, theft in the second degree and theft in the third degree. He pleaded not guilty on Dec. 23.
In that case, Epstein-Solfield assumed the name of “Ben Sharp” on the social media platform and tried to sell a local man a forklift attachment that belonged to Bayview Farm and Garden, according to a report by a deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office. An employee from the nursery became suspicious and interrupted the transaction.
Then on Jan. 16 of this year, prosecutors charged Epstein-Solfield with trafficking in stolen property in the first degree, theft in the first degree and criminal impersonation in the first degree.
In that case, Epstein-Solfield is accused of stealing a sawmill worth $34,000 from a property in Clinton, posing as Ben Sharp on Facebook and selling it to a man in Kitsap County for $7,500, according to court documents.
The report by Deputy Laurrin Bates with the Island County Sheriff’s Office describes a complicated investigation that lasted more than 10 months.
In February 2024, a woman reported that the sawmill had been stolen from property on Crawford Road. Bates responded and advised the woman to contact the company that made the equipment.
A couple of months later, the company informed the deputy that a Port Orchard resident had inquired about getting parts for a sawmill. Bates contacted a deputy in Kitsap County who went to the address provided by the company, found the stolen sawmill and impounded it.
The Port Orchard man reported that he purchased the sawmill off of Facebook Marketplace from someone named “Ben Sharp.” It had originally been listed for $18,500, but he bought if for just $7,500.
The deputy found the Facebook page belonging to “Ben Sharp” and saw that a couple of lawnmowers were for sale. The woman on Crawford Road reported that she had given two lawnmowers to a neighbor, later identified as Epstein-Solfield, the deputy’s report states.
The Kitsap County man reported that he met with “Ben Sharp” to exchange payment in front of the Ace Hardware in Freeland. The deputy obtained surveillance video from the store and also the nearby Payless Foods. An employee at the grocery store was able to identify Epstein-Solfield from the video, the deputy wrote.
Based on the information, the deputy obtained a search warrant for information on the Facebook page associated with “Ben Sharp.” From the IP address provided by Facebook, the deputy got a search warrant for Whidbey Telecom for the subscribers’ names, the report states. Based on the results, the deputy identified the suspect as Epstein-Solfield, the report states.