Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, July 30, 1995                   TAG: 9507310082
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                 LENGTH: Medium

SCAM ARTIST PREYS ON BARBIE MANIA

And now, this ignominy: Barbie has become an unwitting pawn in a criminal scheme, according to Charles County, Md., authorities, who recently charged a La Plata, Md., woman with bilking Barbie collectors out of nearly $30,000.

Deborah Ray Little, 28, placed classified advertisements offering high-priced classic Barbies in a specialty magazine, and she collected and cashed checks sent by 50 aficionados from as far away as Florida, New York and California. Police say she failed to send the promised dolls.

Little's trial is scheduled for Sept. 1, and she has not entered a plea. She faces up to 15 years in prison and a $1,000 fine if convicted of theft by scheme. Attempts to reach Little for comment were unsuccessful Friday; a phone company recording indicated her telephone had been disconnected.

The alleged scheme, which authorities say was carried out in February and March, caused no small measure of hurt feelings and anger among Barbie collectors, said Karen Caviale, a publisher of Barbie Bazaar magazine, which carried Little's ads.

``There are some people who are in it, dealers who are in it, for the money, but they're still nice people,'' said Caviale, who said she sent $1,600 to Little to add to a collection of about 400 dolls. ``It's been almost like a family, and there haven't been a lot of problems.''

Caviale said Barbie collecting has grown quickly in recent years, with her bimonthly magazine's circulation reflecting the boom: from 500 copies at launch seven years ago to 50,000 now. It is distributed in all 50 states and 24 foreign countries.