Hundreds of bargain-hunters flocked to an auction house in NE Portland Thursday for the final day of an auction involving millions of dollars in merchandise police had confiscated as part of an investment fraud scheme.

The items had been seized by police who busted a huge investment fraud scheme.

Investigators said the scheme was simple; claim to buy merchandise of all types very inexpensively and then resell it for an investor profit of 1,600 percent. These types of cases are also known as “Ponzi schemes.”

And the schemes are set up so the operators get rich while sales lag for the fooled investors, police say.

Property seized in the case fills an 80,000-square-foot warehouse and items range from microwaves to gas grills, cameras, business suits, car jacks and even cement mixers. Their value was up in the millions of dollars.

Photo tour: VIEW items for sale

And now it all must go in a three-day auction, due to a court order that said everything must be liquidated.

The Federal Security and Exchange Commission said the illegal operation was based in Union and La Grande, Oregon.

"The promoters claimed that they knew how to purchase store overruns returned merchandise at depressed prices and resell it on the Internet and make a fantastic profit," said Michael Grassmueck, in charge of the auction.

The Feds said investors were promised wild returns on their money but the profits never arrived. Instead, investors’ cash purchased the goods and lined the pockets of the people running the operation.

Profits from the auction, which began at 9 a.m. Tuesday, will go toward paying back investors. Authorities said nothing would be held back and there were no rules on minimum bids.

Customers can even purchase a semi-truck if they’d like.

It’s taken three months to consolidate and prepare for the auction and in three days it will be gone. Organizers created a Web site with more information about the seized property.

The auction site is located at:

6700 NE 59th Place

Portland, OR

Doors open at 9 a.m.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday